Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. Lowers Holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. lessened its holdings in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 48.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,112 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 13,218 shares during the quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC.'s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $764,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMB. Quent Capital LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WMB shares. Scotiabank reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $51.00 target price on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Friday, January 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays increased their target price on Williams Companies from $46.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $53.29.

Williams Companies Stock Up 0.3 %

Williams Companies stock traded up $0.19 during trading on Thursday, reaching $58.46. The stock had a trading volume of 6,417,482 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,606,994. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $34.13 and a 52-week high of $61.46. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $56.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $52.03. 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 stock has a market cap of $71.27 billion, a PE ratio of 31.95, a P/E/G ratio of 5.10 and a beta of 1.04.

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

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.42%. This is a boost from Williams Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 103.83%.

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.