The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Shares Acquired by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its position in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 147.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,906,740 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,135,195 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $103,193,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new position in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Sandy Spring Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on WMB shares. Barclays increased their target price on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. CIBC boosted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $56.07.

Williams Companies Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE WMB opened at $59.24 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.24 billion, a PE ratio of 32.37, a P/E/G ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $57.30 and a 200-day moving average of $54.46. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.18 and a 52-week high of $61.67.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.47. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 21.17%. On average, analysts anticipate that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.38%. This is a boost 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%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams Companies news, COO Micheal G. Dunn sold 96,687 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $37,907,316.72. The trade was a 11.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.46, for a total value of $1,467,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 133,048 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,511,890.08. This trade represents a 16.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 139,583 shares of company stock worth $7,563,278 over the last ninety days. 0.44% of the stock is owned by company 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.