Meeder Asset Management Inc. Acquires 2,541 Shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 12.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 23,421 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,541 shares during the quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $1,268,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Williams Companies Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE WMB opened at $59.24 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.37, a PEG ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.18 and a 1-year high of $61.67. The business’s 50 day moving average is $57.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.50 and a quick ratio of 0.45.

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

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on WMB shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Barclays boosted their price target on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.07.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.46, for a total value of $1,467,960.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 133,048 shares in the company, valued at $7,511,890.08. This trade represents a 16.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Micheal G. Dunn sold 96,687 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.04, for a total value of $5,128,278.48. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 714,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,907,316.72. This trade represents a 11.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 139,583 shares of company stock valued at $7,563,278 in the last ninety days. 0.44% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Williams Companies 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.