Eight 31 Financial LLC Has $379,000 Holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Eight 31 Financial LLC cut its holdings in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 11.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,997 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 908 shares during the period. Eight 31 Financial LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $379,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth approximately $575,103,000. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in Williams Companies by 2,303.2% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,517,336 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $190,358,000 after acquiring an additional 3,370,974 shares during the period. Amundi grew its stake in Williams Companies by 28.8% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 8,781,963 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $495,215,000 after acquiring an additional 1,964,421 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Williams Companies by 3,490.2% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,600,239 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $86,605,000 after buying an additional 1,555,667 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its stake in Williams Companies by 94.9% in the fourth quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 2,873,894 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $155,430,000 after acquiring an additional 1,399,161 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE WMB opened at $59.05 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $57.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $56.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.27, a PEG ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.87. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $37.69 and a one year high of $61.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.50.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.39%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 109.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In related news, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $7,511,890.08. The trade was a 16.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 8,896 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.50, for a total transaction of $511,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 22,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,284,492.50. This trade represents a 28.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 139,583 shares of company stock valued at $7,563,278 in the last three months. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. CIBC lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.77.

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.