The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Position Increased by Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 570,307 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,644 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $30,865,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its holdings in Williams Companies by 50.4% during the 3rd quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 752 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the third quarter worth about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMB opened at $56.00 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $68.26 billion, a PE ratio of 23.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.57. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $32.65 and a 52 week high of $61.46. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $56.00 and its 200-day moving average is $51.08.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.01. Williams Companies had a net margin of 27.36% and a return on equity of 15.89%. The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.45 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 is an increase from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.57%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is 80.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $55.00 price target for the company. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $46.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Williams Companies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.