Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc Cuts Position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc lessened its holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 45,383 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 914 shares during the period. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $2,456,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $720,000. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Williams Companies by 13.8% in the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 162,799 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $8,811,000 after purchasing an additional 19,782 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in Williams Companies by 81.4% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 185,920 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $10,062,000 after purchasing an additional 83,429 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Equity Partners lifted its stake in Williams Companies by 319.9% in the fourth quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 12,038 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $651,000 after purchasing an additional 9,171 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Myriad Asset Management US LP purchased a new position in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $995,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of WMB stock opened at $57.44 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 Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $34.26 and a 52-week high of $61.46. The company has a market capitalization of $70.01 billion, a PE ratio of 31.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.04. The business’s fifty day moving average is $56.15 and its 200 day moving average is $52.25.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 21.17%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 103.83%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on WMB. Barclays upped their price objective on Williams Companies from $46.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $51.00 target price on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Friday, January 10th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.29.

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.