Vaughan David Investments LLC IL Decreases Stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Vaughan David Investments LLC IL lowered its stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,012,425 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 33,880 shares during the period. Williams Companies accounts for 1.3% of Vaughan David Investments LLC IL’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL owned 0.08% of Williams Companies worth $54,792,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the third quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $46.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, 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. One equities 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.29.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of WMB stock opened at $57.28 on Tuesday. 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’s 50-day moving average is $56.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.41. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $34.54 and a 12 month high of $61.46. The company has a market capitalization of $69.82 billion, a PE ratio of 31.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.05.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 15.85%. Analysts predict that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.49%. This is an increase from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is 109.29%.

Williams Companies Company 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.