Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Cuts Position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund decreased its holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 32.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 24,202 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 11,887 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $1,310,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WMB. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group upped their target price on Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. CIBC upped their target price on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Truist Financial upped their target price on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $51.00 price objective on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. One investment 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, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.29.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Williams Companies stock opened at $57.78 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $55.97 and its 200-day moving average is $51.98. The company has a market cap of $70.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.07 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.50 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $33.85 and a 12 month high of $61.46.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 21.17%. Equities analysts anticipate that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.46%. This is an increase from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 103.83%.

Williams Companies Company 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.