Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Purchases 7,186 Shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 160,267 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,186 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $8,674,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new position in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new position in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Price Performance

NYSE WMB opened at $54.96 on Wednesday. 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 company has a market cap of $67.02 billion, a PE ratio of 30.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $36.51 and a 52 week high of $61.46. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $56.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $53.33.

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

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.64%. This is an increase from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 109.29%.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In other news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 8,896 shares of the 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 22,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,284,492.50. This represents a 28.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Micheal G. Dunn sold 96,687 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.04, for a total transaction of $5,128,278.48. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 714,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,907,316.72. This represents a 11.92 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 131,583 shares of company stock valued at $7,107,758 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on WMB shares. Citigroup raised their price objective on Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. 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 note on Friday, January 10th. CIBC boosted their target price on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $55.07.

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.