Sciencast Management LP Takes Position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Sciencast Management LP acquired a new position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 38,327 shares of the pipeline company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,074,000.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on WMB. CIBC lifted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays raised their target price on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Scotiabank upped their price target on Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $55.21.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 8,896 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.50, for a total value of $511,520.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 22,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,284,492.50. This represents a 28.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Micheal G. Dunn sold 96,687 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 714,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,907,316.72. This trade represents a 11.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 139,583 shares of company stock valued at $7,563,278 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE:WMB opened at $59.60 on Friday. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.18 and a twelve month high of $61.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.57, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 stock’s 50 day moving average price is $57.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.93.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued its 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 net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 15.85%. Equities research analysts expect that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share 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. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.36%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 109.29%.

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.