Proficio Capital Partners LLC Makes New Investment in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 326,639 shares of the pipeline company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,678,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new stake in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.46, for a total transaction of $1,467,960.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 133,048 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,511,890.08. This trade represents a 16.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Trading Up 3.5 %

Shares of NYSE:WMB opened at $58.25 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $56.53 and a 200 day moving average of $52.73. The company has a market cap of $71.02 billion, a PE ratio of 31.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.04. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $35.38 and a 12-month high of $61.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last posted its quarterly 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMB has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $46.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $51.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $54.21.

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.