Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Raises Holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 25.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 177,734 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 36,226 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $9,619,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new stake in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new position in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Stock Down 1.2 %

Williams Companies stock opened at $56.21 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.50. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $56.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $52.56. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $34.90 and a fifty-two week high of $61.46. The company has a market capitalization of $68.52 billion, a PE ratio of 30.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.05.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) 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%. Research analysts expect that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be 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 3.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 109.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. 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. Barclays upped their target price on Williams Companies from $46.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $51.00 price objective on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $54.21.

Williams Companies 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.