The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Shares Purchased by Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 43.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 315,936 shares of the pipeline company's stock after buying an additional 95,835 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $17,098,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMB. Quent Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new stake in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Menard Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Sandy Spring Bank bought a new position in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMB has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Barclays upped their price objective on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $60.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In other news, SVP Larry C. Larsen sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,627,229.10. This trade represents a 8.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Micheal G. Dunn sold 96,687 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.04, for a total transaction of $5,128,278.48. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 714,693 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,907,316.72. This represents a 11.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Williams Companies Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of WMB traded down $0.95 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $60.16. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,444,555 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,758,732. The company has a current ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The company's 50-day moving average is $58.42 and its 200-day moving average is $57.32. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $40.41 and a 52-week high of $61.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.87, a PEG ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.65.

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. The company had revenue of $3.05 billion during 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 was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.59 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Williams Companies's payout ratio is currently 106.95%.

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.