Freestone Grove Partners LP Invests $26.35 Million in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 486,868 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $26,349,000.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on WMB. CIBC boosted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Barclays raised 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. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $57.77.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 714,693 shares of the company's stock, valued at $37,907,316.72. This represents a 11.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 transaction of $1,467,960.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 133,048 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,511,890.08. This trade represents a 16.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 139,583 shares of company stock valued at $7,563,278 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WMB traded up $0.16 during trading on Monday, reaching $60.16. 6,450,197 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,625,498. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $57.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.51. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.63 and a 52-week high of $61.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.36 billion, a PE ratio of 32.88, a P/E/G ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business's revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.59 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $0.50 dividend. 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 109.29%.

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.