Capital Market Strategies LLC Invests $236,000 in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Capital Market Strategies LLC bought a new position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 3,951 shares of the pipeline company’s stock, valued at approximately $236,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new position in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Menard Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Sandy Spring Bank bought a new position in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. bought a new position in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Larry C. Larsen sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.94, for a total transaction of $455,520.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 81,265 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,627,229.10. This trade represents a 8.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 8,896 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.50, for a total transaction of $511,520.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 22,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,284,492.50. The trade was a 28.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 113,583 shares of company stock valued at $6,095,318. 0.44% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WMB. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $63.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Truist Financial upped 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. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.75.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMB opened at $60.22 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $58.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $57.19. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $40.11 and a twelve month high of $61.67. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $73.43 billion, a PE ratio of 32.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.66.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.05. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 15.85%. The firm had revenue of $3.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.59 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 106.95%.

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.