Augustine Asset Management Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Augustine Asset Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 7.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,039 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 838 shares during the period. Augustine Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $543,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WMB. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the third quarter worth $30,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. acquired a new position in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMB has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $51.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $46.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. CIBC lifted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.00.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WMB opened at $55.24 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The stock has a market cap of $67.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.31, a P/E/G ratio of 5.06 and a beta of 1.04. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $55.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $51.40. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $32.65 and a twelve month high of $61.46.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.62%. This is a boost from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 80.17%.

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.