Voleon Capital Management LP Takes Position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Voleon Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 67,036 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $3,628,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new position in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $720,000. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Williams Companies by 13.8% in the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 162,799 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $8,811,000 after buying an additional 19,782 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Equity Partners boosted its position in Williams Companies by 319.9% during the 4th quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 12,038 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $651,000 after buying an additional 9,171 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in Williams Companies by 81.4% during the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 185,920 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $10,062,000 after acquiring an additional 83,429 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Myriad Asset Management US LP acquired a new position in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $995,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In related news, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 133,048 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,511,890.08. The trade was a 16.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Larry C. Larsen sold 8,000 shares of the firm'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 sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 139,583 shares of company stock worth $7,563,278 in the last quarter. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. CIBC raised their price objective on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Scotiabank upped their target price on Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $57.77.

Williams Companies Stock Up 2.1 %

Williams Companies stock traded up $1.21 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $60.01. The stock had a trading volume of 4,560,879 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,616,729. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $57.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $56.44. The company has a market capitalization of $73.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.79, a PEG ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.87. 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 Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $38.43 and a 12 month high of $61.67.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 21.17%. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Williams Companies's dividend 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.