Americana Partners LLC Increases Stock Position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Americana Partners LLC boosted its stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 340.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 441,663 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 341,400 shares during the quarter. Williams Companies comprises approximately 1.0% of Americana Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Americana Partners LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $23,903,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $720,000. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Williams Companies by 13.8% in the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 162,799 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $8,811,000 after purchasing an additional 19,782 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Equity Partners raised its stake in Williams Companies by 319.9% in the fourth quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 12,038 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $651,000 after purchasing an additional 9,171 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in Williams Companies by 81.4% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 185,920 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $10,062,000 after purchasing an additional 83,429 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Williams Companies by 17.0% in the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 75,278 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $4,074,000 after purchasing an additional 10,950 shares in the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMB has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $51.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Friday, January 10th. CIBC lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $46.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.29.

Williams Companies Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of Williams Companies stock opened at $57.00 on Monday. 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 Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $33.03 and a 52-week high of $61.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.05, a P/E/G ratio of 5.06 and a beta of 1.04. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $55.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.71.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last released 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 net margin of 27.36% and a return on equity of 15.89%. Equities research analysts forecast that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.51%. This is a boost from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is 80.17%.

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.