Beach Investment Counsel Inc. PA Has $3.07 Million Stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Beach Investment Counsel Inc. PA reduced its position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 8.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 56,781 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 5,447 shares during the period. Beach Investment Counsel Inc. PA’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $3,073,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its holdings in Williams Companies by 50.4% during the 3rd quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 752 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the second quarter worth about $35,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on WMB shares. Bank of America started coverage on Williams Companies in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Williams Companies from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.00.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In related news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.30, for a total transaction of $447,641.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 25,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,455,805.40. This trade represents a 23.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE WMB opened at $55.89 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.12 billion, a PE ratio of 23.62, a PEG ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.05. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $32.65 and a 1 year high of $61.46. The business’s 50-day moving average is $56.12 and its 200 day moving average is $50.86.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.01. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.89% and a net margin of 27.36%. The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.45 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.58%. This is a positive change from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 80.17%.

About Williams Companies

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.