UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Buys 12,684 Shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd lifted its position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 16.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 87,805 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,684 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $4,752,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WMB. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $6,464,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,179,344 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $123,351,000 after buying an additional 262,611 shares during the last quarter. Korea Investment CORP increased its position in Williams Companies by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 918,925 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $49,732,000 after buying an additional 102,976 shares in the last quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. raised its stake in Williams Companies by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 26,475 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,433,000 after buying an additional 401 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its holdings in Williams Companies by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 33,116 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,792,000 after acquiring an additional 460 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of WMB opened at $59.24 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $57.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.18 and a 52 week high of $61.67. The stock has a market cap of $72.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.37, a PEG ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03.

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

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a boost from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.38%. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is 109.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. CIBC boosted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Williams Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $56.07.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 133,048 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,511,890.08. This trade represents a 16.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Micheal G. Dunn sold 96,687 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.04, for a total transaction of $5,128,278.48. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 714,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,907,316.72. This represents a 11.92 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 139,583 shares of company stock valued at $7,563,278 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

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.