Americana Partners LLC Acquires 341,400 Shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Americana Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 340.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 441,663 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after buying an additional 341,400 shares during the period. Williams Companies makes up 1.0% of Americana Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Americana Partners LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $23,903,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quent Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:WMB opened at $57.00 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $55.85 and a 200 day moving average of $51.71. The company has a market cap of $69.48 billion, a PE ratio of 24.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.06 and a beta of 1.04. 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 Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $33.03 and a 12-month high of $61.46.

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

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The firm 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 represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.51%. This is an increase from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 80.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $51.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Friday, January 10th. 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 research report on Friday, November 15th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, CIBC upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One equities research 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 data from MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.29.

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.