Pinkerton Retirement Specialists LLC Purchases New Holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Pinkerton Retirement Specialists LLC purchased a new stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 15,949 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $863,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Williams Companies by 13.8% during the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 162,799 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $8,811,000 after buying an additional 19,782 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Equity Partners lifted its holdings in Williams Companies by 319.9% during the 4th quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 12,038 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $651,000 after buying an additional 9,171 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in Williams Companies by 81.4% during the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 185,920 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $10,062,000 after buying an additional 83,429 shares during the last quarter. Myriad Asset Management US LP bought a new position in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $995,000. Finally, ING Groep NV lifted its holdings in Williams Companies by 266.6% during the 4th quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 155,694 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $8,426,000 after buying an additional 113,227 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of WMB stock opened at $57.92 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.50. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.88 and a 1 year high of $61.67. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $58.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $57.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.62 billion, a PE ratio of 31.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.66.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.05. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 21.17%. The company had revenue of $3.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.59 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 106.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMB has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Scotiabank increased 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Williams Companies from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. CIBC boosted their price objective on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $63.00 price objective on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $60.50.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In other news, COO Micheal G. Dunn sold 96,687 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.04, for a total value of $5,128,278.48. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 714,693 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $37,907,316.72. The trade was a 11.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Larry C. Larsen sold 8,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 81,265 shares in the company, valued at $4,627,229.10. The trade was a 8.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 139,583 shares of company stock valued at $7,563,278. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

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.

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