Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Takes Position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new stake in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 108,611 shares of the pipeline company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,878,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of WMB. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Williams Companies by 64.6% during the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 21,043 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $961,000 after acquiring an additional 8,257 shares during the period. AMG National Trust Bank boosted its holdings in Williams Companies by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 30,627 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,398,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at $116,000. LMR Partners LLP purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at $256,000. Finally, Caprock Group LLC boosted its holdings in Williams Companies by 160.4% during the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 33,960 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,550,000 after acquiring an additional 20,917 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of WMB stock opened at $58.38 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $56.89 and its 200 day moving average is $53.75. 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 cap of $71.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.90, a PEG ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.16 and a 1-year high of $61.46.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last announced 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 15.85% and a net margin of 21.17%. Research analysts predict that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 109.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on WMB shares. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Barclays upped their target price on Williams Companies from $46.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. CIBC upped their target price on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Scotiabank upped their target price on Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $55.07.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, COO Micheal G. Dunn sold 96,687 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.04, for a total value of $5,128,278.48. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 714,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,907,316.72. This trade represents a 11.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Larry C. Larsen sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.94, for a total value of $455,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 81,265 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,627,229.10. The trade was a 8.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 139,583 shares of company stock valued at $7,563,278. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

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.