Resolution Capital Ltd Buys Shares of 52,817 The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Resolution Capital Ltd bought a new stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 52,817 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $2,858,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WMB. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,809,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of Williams Companies by 38.8% during the fourth quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 145,843 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $7,893,000 after purchasing an additional 40,766 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 138,013 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $7,469,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares during the last quarter. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth $974,000. Finally, Man Group plc grew its stake in Williams Companies by 189.1% during the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 223,437 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $12,092,000 after buying an additional 146,152 shares during the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WMB traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $58.77. 5,118,505 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,636,383. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $58.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $56.90. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.88 and a twelve month high of $61.67. The firm has a market cap of $71.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.11, a PEG ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.66.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 had revenue of $3.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.59 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.40%. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 106.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMB has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. CIBC boosted their price target on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $63.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Friday. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. 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. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Williams Companies currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $60.50.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, COO Micheal G. Dunn sold 96,687 shares of the 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 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Larry C. Larsen sold 8,000 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 139,583 shares of company stock valued at $7,563,278. 0.44% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.