Catalina Capital Group LLC Increases Stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Catalina Capital Group LLC boosted its position in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,900 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after buying an additional 459 shares during the period. Catalina Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $482,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of WMB. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased its position in shares of Williams Companies by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 5,568 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $300,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. Albion Financial Group UT boosted its holdings in Williams Companies by 18.4% in the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 1,184 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its stake in Williams Companies by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 7,817 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $357,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Williams Companies by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,178 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $118,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Dearborn Partners LLC raised its position in Williams Companies by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC now owns 18,111 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $827,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.30, for a total value of $447,641.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,455,805.40. This represents a 23.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Price Performance

WMB stock opened at $55.43 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $56.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $50.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.57 billion, a PE ratio of 23.39, a P/E/G ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $32.65 and a one year high of $61.46.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 27.36% and a return on equity of 15.89%. The company’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.45 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. 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 3.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 80.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMB has been the subject of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Bank of America initiated coverage on Williams Companies in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $51.00 target price on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.00.

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.