Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft Increases Stock Holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised its stake in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,568 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $300,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 50.4% in the 3rd 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 acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the second quarter worth $35,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the third quarter worth $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams Companies news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.30, for a total value of $447,641.30. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,858 shares in the company, valued at $1,455,805.40. The trade was a 23.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Williams Companies Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of WMB opened at $56.55 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $56.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $50.61. The stock has a market cap of $68.94 billion, a PE ratio of 23.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.00 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $32.65 and a 52-week high of $61.46.

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

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.54%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.