Guggenheim Capital LLC Buys 7,249 Shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Guggenheim Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 173,128 shares of the pipeline company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,249 shares during the period. Guggenheim Capital LLC's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $9,370,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Sandy Spring Bank acquired a new position in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. bought a new position in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In related news, SVP Larry C. Larsen sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.94, for a total transaction of $455,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 81,265 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,627,229.10. This represents a 8.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.46, for a total transaction of $1,467,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 133,048 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,511,890.08. This represents a 16.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 139,583 shares of company stock valued at $7,563,278. 0.44% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Williams Companies Stock Down 4.5 %

Shares of NYSE WMB traded down $2.63 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $55.99. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,709,470 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,613,649. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.69 and a fifty-two week high of $61.67. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $57.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $55.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.60, a PEG ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 21.17%. Equities research analysts predict that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Williams Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.57%. Williams Companies's payout ratio is currently 109.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Barclays boosted their target price on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Williams Companies currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $57.77.

Williams Companies 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.