The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Shares Bought by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 130,356,165 shares of the pipeline company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,008,213 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 10.69% of Williams Companies worth $7,054,876,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Sandy Spring Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Stock Down 0.5 %

WMB traded down $0.31 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $60.78. 6,528,794 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,182,604. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.18 and a fifty-two week high of $61.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.50 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The company has a market cap of $74.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.21, a PEG ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $57.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $54.17.

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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 (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 21.17%. As a group, analysts forecast that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a boost from Williams Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is 109.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup boosted their target price on Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. CIBC increased their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $56.07.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In related news, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of the business'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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 133,048 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,511,890.08. This represents a 16.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Micheal G. Dunn sold 96,687 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.04, for a total transaction of $5,128,278.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 714,693 shares in the company, valued at $37,907,316.72. This represents a 11.92 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 139,583 shares of company stock valued at $7,563,278. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Williams Companies

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.