The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Stake Cut by HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC

HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 45.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 100,000 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 83,636 shares during the period. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $5,412,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $575,103,000. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in Williams Companies by 2,303.2% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,517,336 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $190,358,000 after buying an additional 3,370,974 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its stake in Williams Companies by 28.8% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 8,781,963 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $495,215,000 after buying an additional 1,964,421 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Williams Companies by 3,490.2% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,600,239 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $86,605,000 after buying an additional 1,555,667 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 94.9% during the fourth quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 2,873,894 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $155,430,000 after acquiring an additional 1,399,161 shares during the period. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on WMB. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, CIBC raised their price target on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. One 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.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $56.07.

Williams Companies Stock Up 0.4 %

WMB stock opened at $58.49 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.50 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.96, a P/E/G ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.87. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.27 and a 52-week high of $61.67. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $57.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $55.72.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.47. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 15.85%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a boost from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 109.29%.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Larry C. Larsen sold 8,000 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 81,265 shares in the company, valued at $4,627,229.10. The trade was a 8.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 8,896 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.50, for a total transaction of $511,520.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 22,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,284,492.50. The trade was a 28.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 139,583 shares of company stock valued at $7,563,278. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

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.