WESPAC Advisors LLC Makes New $857,000 Investment in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

WESPAC Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 15,828 shares of the pipeline company’s stock, valued at approximately $857,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WMB. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the third quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams Companies Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE WMB opened at $57.44 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $70.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.50 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The business has a 50-day moving average of $56.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $52.25. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $34.26 and a 1 year high of $61.46.

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

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.48%. This is an increase from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is 103.83%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMB has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group raised their price target on Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $46.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.29.

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.