GLOBALT Investments LLC GA Purchases New Holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

GLOBALT Investments LLC GA purchased a new stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 4,992 shares of the pipeline company’s stock, valued at approximately $270,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new position in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new position in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the third quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on WMB shares. 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 report on Thursday, March 6th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. CIBC increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $46.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $55.07.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of WMB opened at $58.42 on Tuesday. 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 market capitalization of $71.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $56.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $53.66. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $36.84 and a 12 month high of $61.46.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 15.85%. As a group, analysts predict that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 109.29%.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In other news, COO Micheal G. Dunn sold 96,687 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.04, for a total transaction of $5,128,278.48. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 714,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,907,316.72. This represents a 11.92 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 133,048 shares in the company, valued at $7,511,890.08. This trade represents a 16.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 139,583 shares of company stock valued at $7,563,278 in the last 90 days. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.