The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Shares Bought by Toronto Dominion Bank

Toronto Dominion Bank grew its position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 82.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 799,160 shares of the pipeline company's stock after purchasing an additional 361,370 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank owned approximately 0.07% of Williams Companies worth $43,251,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WMB. Quent Capital LLC bought a new stake in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new position in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Sandy Spring Bank bought a new stake in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. bought a new position in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams Companies Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of Williams Companies stock traded up $0.66 on Friday, hitting $58.41. 2,144,031 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,612,498. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.88 and a 52 week high of $61.67. The company has a market cap of $71.22 billion, a PE ratio of 31.85, a PEG ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.66. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $58.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $57.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.60 earnings per share 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 prior year, the business earned $0.59 earnings per share. Williams Companies's revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 106.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Larry C. Larsen sold 8,000 shares of the company's 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 81,265 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,627,229.10. This represents a 8.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Micheal G. Dunn sold 96,687 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 714,693 shares in the company, valued at $37,907,316.72. The trade was a 11.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 139,583 shares of company stock valued at $7,563,278. Insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on WMB. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Citigroup increased 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. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Williams Companies from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $60.50.

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.