USS Investment Management Ltd Raises Holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

USS Investment Management Ltd boosted its stake in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 239,494 shares of the pipeline company's stock after buying an additional 5,686 shares during the period. USS Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $12,963,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WMB. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Williams Companies by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 130,356,165 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $7,054,876,000 after purchasing an additional 1,008,213 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Williams Companies by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 31,263,235 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,687,797,000 after acquiring an additional 540,533 shares in the last quarter. Blackstone Inc. grew its holdings in Williams Companies by 36.5% in the fourth quarter. Blackstone Inc. now owns 18,954,088 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,025,795,000 after purchasing an additional 5,068,738 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 15,236,940 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $824,623,000 after purchasing an additional 1,696,618 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth $575,103,000. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of WMB opened at $58.75 on Wednesday. The business's 50-day moving average is $58.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.00. The company has a market capitalization of $71.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.10, a P/E/G ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.66. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.88 and a fifty-two week high of $61.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.50.

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

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 106.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on WMB shares. Scotiabank raised their price target on Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Citigroup raised their target price on Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $60.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Larry C. Larsen sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.94, for a total transaction of $455,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 81,265 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,627,229.10. This represents a 8.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.46, for a total value of $1,467,960.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 133,048 shares in the company, valued at $7,511,890.08. This trade represents a 16.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 139,583 shares of company stock valued at $7,563,278. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

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.

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