The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Shares Acquired by Hilltop Holdings Inc.

Hilltop Holdings Inc. increased its position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 61.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,956 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after buying an additional 10,985 shares during the quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $1,322,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WMB. SouthState Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the second quarter valued at $31,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the second quarter valued at $34,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 50.4% in the third quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 752 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the second quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the third quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.30, for a total transaction of $447,641.30. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 25,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,455,805.40. This represents a 23.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.29, for a total value of $90,580.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 304,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,777,218. The trade was a 0.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on WMB. Scotiabank upped their target price on Williams Companies from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Barclays upped their target price on Williams Companies from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised Williams Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $52.00 to $58.00 in a report on Friday, October 4th. Bank of America began coverage on Williams Companies in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $55.00 target price for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams Companies has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $52.07.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of WMB stock opened at $56.58 on Wednesday. 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 Williams Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $32.65 and a fifty-two week high of $60.36. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $53.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.60. The firm has a market cap of $68.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.87, a PEG ratio of 5.79 and a beta of 1.05.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.89% and a net margin of 27.36%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.45 EPS. Analysts predict that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.475 per share. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 80.17%.

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.