Portfolio Design Labs LLC Buys New Position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Portfolio Design Labs LLC purchased a new position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 4,031 shares of the pipeline company’s stock, valued at approximately $218,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. bought a new stake in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WMB opened at $54.83 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $66.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.14, a PEG ratio of 5.06 and a beta of 1.04. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $32.65 and a twelve month high of $61.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The company has a 50 day moving average of $55.87 and a 200 day moving average of $51.49.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.89% and a net margin of 27.36%. As a group, research analysts expect that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.65%. 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 presently 80.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays increased their target price on Williams Companies from $46.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $51.00 price objective on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Friday, January 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.00.

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.