PDS Planning Inc Purchases 743 Shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

PDS Planning Inc increased its position in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 12.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,674 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after acquiring an additional 743 shares during the period. PDS Planning Inc’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $361,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WMB. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Williams Companies by 64.6% during the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 21,043 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $961,000 after acquiring an additional 8,257 shares during the last quarter. AMG National Trust Bank grew its position in Williams Companies by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 30,627 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,398,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Williams Companies during the 3rd quarter worth $116,000. LMR Partners LLP bought a new stake in Williams Companies during the 3rd quarter worth $256,000. Finally, Caprock Group LLC grew its position in Williams Companies by 160.4% during the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 33,960 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,550,000 after acquiring an additional 20,917 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:WMB opened at $58.38 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $71.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.90, a P/E/G ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.50 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The business’s 50-day moving average is $56.89 and its 200-day moving average is $53.75. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.16 and a 1 year high of $61.46.

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

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 109.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on WMB. Barclays lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $46.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $55.07.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of the company’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 transaction of $1,467,960.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 133,048 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,511,890.08. This represents a 16.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Larry C. Larsen sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.94, for a total value of $455,520.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 81,265 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,627,229.10. This represents a 8.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 139,583 shares of company stock valued at $7,563,278. 0.44% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Williams Companies 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.