The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Shares Purchased by Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its position in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 33,116 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 460 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $1,792,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Sandy Spring Bank purchased a new stake in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Williams Companies during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WMB opened at $59.92 on Thursday. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $57.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $54.32. The firm has a market cap of $73.07 billion, a PE ratio of 32.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.18 and a fifty-two week high of $61.67.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.47. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 15.85%. Sell-side analysts expect 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 disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.34%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 109.29%.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In other news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 8,896 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.50, for a total transaction of $511,520.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 22,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,284,492.50. The trade was a 28.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Larry C. Larsen sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.94, for a total value of $455,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 81,265 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,627,229.10. This trade represents a 8.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 139,583 shares of company stock worth $7,563,278 in the last ninety days. 0.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMB has been the subject of several research reports. 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 note on Tuesday. CIBC upped their price target on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Williams Companies has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.07.

About Williams Companies

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.