Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. Purchases 188,123 Shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its position in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 38.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 681,470 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after buying an additional 188,123 shares during the quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. owned about 0.06% of Williams Companies worth $36,881,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WMB. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Williams Companies in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its position in Williams Companies by 50.4% during the third quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 752 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the period. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Williams Companies during the second quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of WMB opened at $56.55 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The stock has a market cap of $68.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.86, a P/E/G ratio of 5.31 and a beta of 1.06. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $56.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $50.61. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $32.65 and a 52 week high of $61.46.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.52 billion. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.89% and a net margin of 27.36%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.45 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.54%. 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 is currently 84.39%.

Insider Activity

In other Williams Companies news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.30, for a total transaction of $447,641.30. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,858 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,455,805.40. This trade represents a 23.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on WMB shares. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $51.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Friday, January 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays increased their price objective 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 increased their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average 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.