Cornerstone Capital Inc. Takes Position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Cornerstone Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 4,121 shares of the pipeline company’s stock, valued at approximately $223,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Covalis Capital LLP purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $4,809,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in Williams Companies by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 598,274 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $32,379,000 after acquiring an additional 11,373 shares in the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP grew its holdings in Williams Companies by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 26,104 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,413,000 after acquiring an additional 621 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 94.9% in the 4th quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 2,873,894 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $155,430,000 after buying an additional 1,399,161 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA raised its stake in Williams Companies by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA now owns 20,240 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,095,000 after buying an additional 493 shares during the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams Companies Price Performance

WMB stock opened at $58.49 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $57.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $55.80. The stock has a market cap of $71.32 billion, a PE ratio of 31.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.87. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.46 and a 1 year high of $61.67.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last announced 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 forecast that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a positive change from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 109.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on WMB shares. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Truist Financial lifted their price target 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. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.77.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was 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 owns 133,048 shares of the company’s stock, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Larry C. Larsen sold 8,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.94, for a total value of $455,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 81,265 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,627,229.10. The trade was a 8.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 139,583 shares of company stock worth $7,563,278 in the last 90 days. Corporate 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.