The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Position Cut by Spirit of America Management Corp NY

Spirit of America Management Corp NY cut its stake in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 13.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 284,432 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 44,500 shares during the period. Williams Companies accounts for about 3.1% of Spirit of America Management Corp NY’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Spirit of America Management Corp NY’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $15,393,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 5,568 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $300,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. Albion Financial Group UT raised its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 18.4% in the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 1,184 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 2.6% in the third quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 7,817 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $357,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the period. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,178 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $118,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Dearborn Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 1.1% in the third quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC now owns 18,111 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $827,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the period. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams Companies news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.30, for a total transaction of $447,641.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 25,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,455,805.40. The trade was a 23.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Williams Companies Stock Down 0.8 %

Williams Companies stock opened at $55.73 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.52, a PEG ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.05. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $32.65 and a 1-year high of $61.46. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $56.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $50.95.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.01. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.89% and a net margin of 27.36%. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.52 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.45 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.59%. This is a boost from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is currently 80.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Williams Companies from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. UBS Group raised their price objective on Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.00.

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.