The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Shares Bought by Scotia Capital Inc.

Scotia Capital Inc. grew its stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 85.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 40,338 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,555 shares during the period. Scotia Capital Inc.’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $2,183,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new position in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Sandy Spring Bank purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In related news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 8,896 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.50, for a total value of $511,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 22,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,284,492.50. This represents a 28.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.46, for a total value of $1,467,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 133,048 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,511,890.08. The trade was a 16.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, 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 Price Performance

WMB stock opened at $56.24 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.50. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $57.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $55.43. The firm has a market cap of $68.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.73, a PEG ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.87. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.18 and a 1 year high of $61.67.

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

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is currently 109.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Scotiabank increased their target price on Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. One equities research 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.com, Williams Companies has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $56.07.

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.