Equitable Trust Co. Purchases 213 Shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Equitable Trust Co. increased its holdings in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,028 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after buying an additional 213 shares during the quarter. Equitable Trust Co.’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $543,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMB. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,459 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its holdings in Williams Companies by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 9,203 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $420,000 after buying an additional 506 shares during the period. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA bought a new position in Williams Companies in the third quarter valued at approximately $246,000. Empirical Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 2.8% in the third quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC now owns 11,260 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $514,000 after buying an additional 304 shares during the period. Finally, Wesbanco Bank Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the third quarter worth $235,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

NYSE WMB opened at $55.24 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.06 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $55.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $51.40. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $32.65 and a 1 year high of $61.46.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.62%. 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 84.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on WMB. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Williams Companies in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Williams Companies from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, CIBC upped their price target on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.00.

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.