Truist Financial Corp Sells 67,809 Shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Truist Financial Corp reduced its position in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,559,756 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 67,809 shares during the quarter. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $84,414,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new stake in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $720,000. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Williams Companies by 13.8% during the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 162,799 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $8,811,000 after acquiring an additional 19,782 shares during the period. Golden State Equity Partners grew its position in shares of Williams Companies by 319.9% during the 4th quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 12,038 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $651,000 after acquiring an additional 9,171 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 81.4% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 185,920 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $10,062,000 after purchasing an additional 83,429 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Williams Companies by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 75,278 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $4,074,000 after purchasing an additional 10,950 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Price Performance

NYSE:WMB opened at $57.00 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $55.85 and its 200 day moving average is $51.77. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $33.03 and a 12 month high of $61.46. The company has a market capitalization of $69.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.05, a P/E/G ratio of 5.06 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.47. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.89% and a net margin of 27.36%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.51%. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is 80.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on WMB shares. Barclays boosted their price target on Williams Companies from $46.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. CIBC increased their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. One 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.29.

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.