Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Has $11.33 Million Stock Holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 7.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 209,344 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,307 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $11,330,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in WMB. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 8,896 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.50, for a total value of $511,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 22,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,284,492.50. The trade was a 28.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Micheal G. Dunn sold 96,687 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.04, for a total transaction of $5,128,278.48. Following the completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 139,583 shares of company stock valued at $7,563,278. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WMB opened at $59.60 on Friday. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.18 and a twelve month high of $61.46. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $57.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $53.99. The company has a market capitalization of $72.67 billion, a PE ratio of 32.57, a P/E/G ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 15.85%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 109.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMB has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. One investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $55.21.

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.