Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Boosts Stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 13.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,179,344 shares of the pipeline company's stock after purchasing an additional 262,611 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.18% of Williams Companies worth $123,351,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WMB. Korea Investment CORP raised its stake in Williams Companies by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 918,925 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $49,732,000 after purchasing an additional 102,976 shares during the last quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 26,475 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,433,000 after buying an additional 401 shares in the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. raised its position in shares of Williams Companies by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 33,116 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,792,000 after buying an additional 460 shares during the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association lifted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 55.9% in the fourth quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 12,781 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $692,000 after buying an additional 4,582 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dudley Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Williams Companies by 19.5% during the fourth quarter. Dudley Capital Management LLC now owns 41,775 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $2,261,000 after acquiring an additional 6,805 shares during the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Williams Companies Stock Performance

WMB traded up $0.33 during trading on Monday, hitting $59.52. 3,241,705 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,481,051. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.18 and a 1-year high of $61.67. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $57.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $54.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.61, a PEG ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.47. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 15.85%. As a group, sell-side 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Williams Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 109.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. CIBC lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $56.07.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In other news, SVP Larry C. Larsen sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 81,265 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,627,229.10. This trade represents a 8.96 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.46, for a total value of $1,467,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 133,048 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,511,890.08. The trade was a 16.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 139,583 shares of company stock worth $7,563,278 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

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.