The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Shares Acquired by Wedbush Securities Inc.

Wedbush Securities Inc. increased its stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 22.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 36,717 shares of the pipeline company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,682 shares during the quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc.'s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $1,987,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMB. Sit Investment Associates Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Sit Investment Associates Inc. now owns 276,110 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $14,943,000 after acquiring an additional 7,670 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $1,636,000. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth $22,014,000. Pioneer Trust Bank N A OR purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth $276,000. Finally, Prudential PLC raised its position in shares of Williams Companies by 28.4% in the fourth quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 306,133 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $16,568,000 after buying an additional 67,803 shares during the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Larry C. Larsen sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.94, for a total value of $455,520.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Micheal G. Dunn sold 96,687 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 714,693 shares in the company, valued at $37,907,316.72. The trade was a 11.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 139,583 shares of company stock worth $7,563,278 in the last ninety days. 0.44% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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Williams Companies Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE:WMB traded up $0.57 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $55.64. 2,897,397 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,655,623. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.18 and a twelve month high of $61.67. The business has a 50-day moving average of $57.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $55.36. The company has a market capitalization of $67.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.40, a PEG ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67.

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

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from Williams Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 109.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. CIBC upped their target price on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. One research 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 data from MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $56.07.

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.