Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,873,473 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 38,594 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.24% of Williams Companies worth $131,174,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 9.1% in the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 29,396 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,146,000 after buying an additional 2,442 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in Williams Companies by 9.2% during the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 31,557 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,230,000 after acquiring an additional 2,666 shares in the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its position in shares of Williams Companies by 13.4% in the 1st quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 116,052 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $4,523,000 after purchasing an additional 13,709 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 15.5% in the 1st quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 113,503 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $4,423,000 after purchasing an additional 15,232 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HBK Sorce Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 2.8% during the first quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 13,690 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $534,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams Companies Stock Down 2.0 %

WMB opened at $55.60 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $49.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $44.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market cap of $67.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.46, a P/E/G ratio of 5.56 and a beta of 1.03. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.65 and a 12 month high of $57.33.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.52 billion. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.89% and a net margin of 27.36%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.45 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 80.17%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.29, for a total transaction of $90,580.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 304,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,777,218. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.30, for a total value of $447,641.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 25,858 shares in the company, valued at $1,455,805.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.29, for a total transaction of $90,580.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 304,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,777,218. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WMB. StockNews.com lowered Williams Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Mizuho upped their price target on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $42.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. CIBC raised their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $55.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.38.

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.