V Square Quantitative Management LLC Boosts Stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 23,160 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after acquiring an additional 331 shares during the quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $1,253,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quent Capital LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. purchased a new stake in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMB opened at $57.52 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $70.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.27, a P/E/G ratio of 5.06 and a beta of 1.04. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $32.65 and a 1-year high of $61.46. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $55.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $51.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.51.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47. Williams Companies had a net margin of 27.36% and a return on equity of 15.89%. Research analysts expect that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.48%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 80.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WMB. CIBC boosted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $51.00 price objective on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Barclays increased 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. UBS Group boosted their price target on Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.00.

About Williams Companies

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.