Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Buys 86,227 Shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 78.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 196,459 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after buying an additional 86,227 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Williams Companies were worth $10,711,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Quent Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners bought a new position in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on WMB shares. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Citigroup lifted 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. CIBC lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $55.21.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In other news, SVP Larry C. Larsen sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.94, for a total value of $455,520.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 81,265 shares in the company, valued at $4,627,229.10. The trade was a 8.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 8,896 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 22,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,284,492.50. This trade represents a 28.48 % 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. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of Williams Companies stock opened at $59.60 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.18 and a 12 month high of $61.46. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $57.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $53.99. The stock has a market cap of $72.67 billion, a PE ratio of 32.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 21.17%. Research analysts predict that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.36%. This is a boost from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is presently 109.29%.

About Williams Companies

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.