Ethos Financial Group LLC Takes Position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Ethos Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 2,727 shares of the pipeline company’s stock, valued at approximately $148,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Inceptionr LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $1,548,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $465,000. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 350,480 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $18,968,000 after buying an additional 1,034 shares during the period. Aigen Investment Management LP increased its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 800.6% in the 4th quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 63,509 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $3,437,000 after buying an additional 56,457 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $327,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of Williams Companies stock opened at $54.64 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $66.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $56.69 and its 200-day moving average is $53.01. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $35.74 and a one year high of $61.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.50 and a quick ratio of 0.45.

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 return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 21.17%. Equities analysts predict that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.66%. This is a positive change from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is 109.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. CIBC lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $55.07.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 133,048 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,511,890.08. This represents a 16.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 8,896 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.50, for a total value of $511,520.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 22,339 shares in the company, valued at $1,284,492.50. The trade was a 28.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

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.