State of Alaska Department of Revenue Sells 2,540 Shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue decreased its holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 139,029 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 2,540 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $7,524,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMB. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 5,568 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $300,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Albion Financial Group UT lifted its position in Williams Companies by 18.4% in the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 1,184 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its position in Williams Companies by 2.6% in the third quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 7,817 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $357,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Williams Companies by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,178 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $118,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Dearborn Partners LLC increased its position in Williams Companies by 1.1% during the third quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC now owns 18,111 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $827,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on WMB. CIBC lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. UBS Group boosted their target price on Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Bank of America began coverage on Williams Companies in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on Williams Companies from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.00.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of WMB opened at $56.00 on Friday. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $56.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $51.08. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $32.65 and a fifty-two week high of $61.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.26 billion, a PE ratio of 23.63, a PEG ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.05.

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

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.57%. 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%.

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.