Empowered Funds LLC Decreases Position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Empowered Funds LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 79,547 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 8,975 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $3,631,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. SouthState Corp purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the second quarter worth $31,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the second quarter valued at about $34,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 50.4% during the third quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 752 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the second quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the second quarter worth about $42,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.30, for a total transaction of $447,641.30. Following the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.29, for a total transaction of $90,580.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 304,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,777,218. This represents a 0.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.44% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMB has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Bank of America initiated coverage on Williams Companies in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Williams Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on Williams Companies from $42.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.54.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WMB opened at $57.86 on Tuesday. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $32.65 and a fifty-two week high of $58.10. The company has a market cap of $70.53 billion, a PE ratio of 24.41, a P/E/G ratio of 5.83 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.57. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $50.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $45.17.

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

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.28%. 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.