Kestra Investment Management LLC Trims Stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Kestra Investment Management LLC reduced its position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 45.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,888 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 10,011 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $643,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. increased its position in Williams Companies by 16.9% in the 4th quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 59,229 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $3,206,000 after acquiring an additional 8,559 shares during the period. Pinnbrook Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $8,062,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its position in Williams Companies by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 464,801 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $26,303,000 after acquiring an additional 12,062 shares during the period. Americana Partners LLC increased its position in Williams Companies by 340.5% in the 4th quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 441,663 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $23,903,000 after acquiring an additional 341,400 shares during the period. Finally, Keystone Financial Services acquired a new position in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $222,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of Williams Companies stock opened at $57.78 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $55.97 and a 200-day moving average of $51.98. 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 company has a market capitalization of $70.44 billion, a PE ratio of 31.57, a P/E/G ratio of 5.07 and a beta of 1.04. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $33.85 and a 1-year high of $61.46.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.47. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 15.85%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a boost from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.46%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 103.83%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMB has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Mizuho boosted their target price on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams Companies has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.29.

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.