The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Shares Purchased by Voya Investment Management LLC

Voya Investment Management LLC boosted its position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 78.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 694,588 shares of the pipeline company's stock after acquiring an additional 305,092 shares during the quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC owned 0.06% of Williams Companies worth $37,591,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $575,103,000. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 2,303.2% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,517,336 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $190,358,000 after purchasing an additional 3,370,974 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 28.8% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 8,781,963 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $495,215,000 after purchasing an additional 1,964,421 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Williams Companies by 3,490.2% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,600,239 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $86,605,000 after acquiring an additional 1,555,667 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its position in shares of Williams Companies by 94.9% during the fourth quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 2,873,894 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $155,430,000 after acquiring an additional 1,399,161 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $57.77.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Larry C. Larsen sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 81,265 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,627,229.10. This trade represents a 8.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 139,583 shares of company stock valued at $7,563,278. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

WMB stock traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $58.66. The company had a trading volume of 2,523,420 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,610,444. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $71.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.08, a P/E/G ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.87. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $37.69 and a one year high of $61.67. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $57.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $56.33.

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

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.