Hilltop Holdings Inc. Has $1.32 Million Holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Hilltop Holdings Inc. raised its stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 61.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,956 shares of the pipeline company's stock after buying an additional 10,985 shares during the period. Hilltop Holdings Inc.'s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $1,322,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SouthState Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Williams Companies during the second quarter worth approximately $34,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its position in Williams Companies by 50.4% during the third quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 752 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Williams Companies during the second quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies during the third quarter worth approximately $38,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In other news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.29, for a total transaction of $90,580.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 304,200 shares in the company, valued at $13,777,218. This represents a 0.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.30, for a total transaction of $447,641.30. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 25,858 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,455,805.40. This trade represents a 23.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WMB. StockNews.com lowered shares of Williams Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, CIBC lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $52.07.

Williams Companies Price Performance

WMB stock traded down $0.30 on Wednesday, hitting $56.30. 7,505,519 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,306,849. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $32.65 and a 1-year high of $60.36. The stock has a market cap of $68.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.76, a P/E/G ratio of 5.79 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $53.28 and a 200-day moving average of $46.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 27.36% and a return on equity of 15.89%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.45 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.37%. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.17%.

Williams Companies Company Profile

The Williams Companies, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy infrastructure company primarily in the United States. It operates through Transmission & Gulf of Mexico, Northeast G&P, West, and Gas & NGL Marketing Services segments. The Transmission & Gulf of Mexico segment comprises natural gas pipelines; Transco, Northwest pipeline, MountainWest, and related natural gas storage facilities; and natural gas gathering and processing, and crude oil production handling and transportation assets in the Gulf Coast region.