EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC Increases Stock Holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 10.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,961 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after buying an additional 848 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $485,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WMB. Quent Capital LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In other news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 8,896 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.50, for a total value of $511,520.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 22,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,284,492.50. The trade was a 28.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.46, for a total transaction of $1,467,960.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 133,048 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,511,890.08. The trade was a 16.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 139,583 shares of company stock worth $7,563,278 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of WMB opened at $57.33 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $56.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $53.46. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $36.69 and a fifty-two week high of $61.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.91 billion, a PE ratio of 31.33, a PEG ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 earnings per share 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%. Equities analysts predict that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.49%. This is an increase from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 109.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on WMB shares. CIBC boosted their target price on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. UBS Group increased their target price on Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price 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, Barclays upped their price target 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $55.07.

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.