The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Holdings Cut by Kestra Investment Management LLC

Kestra Investment Management LLC lowered its holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 45.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 11,888 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 10,011 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $643,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quent Capital LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Trading Up 1.4 %

Williams Companies stock opened at $57.78 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.50. The firm has a market cap of $70.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.07 and a beta of 1.04. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $33.85 and a 1 year high of $61.46. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $55.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $51.98.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last posted 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 net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 15.85%. On average, research analysts predict that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.46%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 103.83%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $51.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Barclays raised their price target 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 raised their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.29.

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.