Vise Technologies Inc. Grows Stock Position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Vise Technologies Inc. lifted its stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 123.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,608 shares of the pipeline company's stock after buying an additional 15,244 shares during the period. Vise Technologies Inc.'s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $1,494,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WMB. Quent Capital LLC bought a new stake in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Sandy Spring Bank purchased a new stake in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Barclays raised their target price on 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 upped their price target on Williams Companies from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, CIBC boosted their target price on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $60.75.

Williams Companies Stock Down 1.0%

WMB stock traded down $0.60 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $60.02. The stock had a trading volume of 2,310,822 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,674,006. The business has a 50-day moving average of $58.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $57.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.50 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market cap of $73.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.66. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $40.06 and a 52-week high of $61.67.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last released 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 net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 15.85%. The firm had revenue of $3.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.59 EPS. The company's revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 106.95%.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In related news, COO Micheal G. Dunn sold 96,687 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.04, for a total transaction of $5,128,278.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 714,693 shares of the company's stock, valued at $37,907,316.72. This trade represents a 11.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Larry C. Larsen sold 8,000 shares of the business'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 owns 81,265 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 ninety days, insiders have sold 113,583 shares of company stock valued at $6,095,318. 0.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.