The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Shares Sold by Certuity LLC

Certuity LLC lessened its holdings in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 7.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 4,641 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 380 shares during the period. Certuity LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $251,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMB. Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its position in Williams Companies by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 9,203 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $420,000 after acquiring an additional 506 shares during the period. Wesbanco Bank Inc. acquired a new position in Williams Companies during the 3rd quarter worth $235,000. Creative Planning boosted its position in Williams Companies by 9.9% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 199,046 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $9,086,000 after acquiring an additional 17,983 shares during the period. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Williams Companies by 25.6% during the 3rd quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,709 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $443,000 after acquiring an additional 1,976 shares during the period. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 21,590 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $986,000 after buying an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Stock Up 4.9 %

NYSE:WMB opened at $57.52 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.27, a PEG ratio of 5.06 and a beta of 1.04. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $32.65 and a 1-year high of $61.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $55.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $51.51.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.47. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.89% and a net margin of 27.36%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.48%. This is an increase from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is 80.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMB has been the topic of a number of research reports. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Williams Companies from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Barclays boosted their price objective on Williams Companies from $46.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Williams Companies in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $51.00 price objective on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Friday, January 10th. 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.00.

Williams Companies 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.