Enterprise Financial Services Corp Buys New Shares in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Enterprise Financial Services Corp bought a new stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 3,926 shares of the pipeline company’s stock, valued at approximately $212,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Quent Capital LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new position in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.46, for a total value of $1,467,960.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 133,048 shares in the company, valued at $7,511,890.08. This trade represents a 16.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 8,896 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.50, for a total value of $511,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 22,339 shares in the company, valued at $1,284,492.50. This represents 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 Price Performance

Shares of WMB opened at $54.37 on Friday. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $35.78 and a 12-month high of $61.46. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $56.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $53.14. 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 stock has a market cap of $66.30 billion, a PE ratio of 29.71, a PEG ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.47. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 21.17%. Analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.68%. This is a positive change from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 109.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $46.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Williams Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $55.07.

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.