Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. cut its holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 49,133 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 1,928 shares during the quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $1,711,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Williams Companies by 35.1% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,553,779 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $321,867,000 after acquiring an additional 2,482,331 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. raised its position in shares of Williams Companies by 45.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 6,545,151 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $220,506,000 after purchasing an additional 2,040,993 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Williams Companies by 55.1% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,900,745 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $165,106,000 after buying an additional 1,740,677 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Williams Companies by 69.2% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,105,754 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $143,003,000 after buying an additional 1,679,452 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. increased its stake in Williams Companies by 292.5% during the 3rd quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,712,038 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $57,679,000 after buying an additional 1,275,872 shares in the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams Companies Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE WMB traded up $0.13 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $38.67. 4,420,828 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,587,367. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.76, a PEG ratio of 6.07 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.77. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $37.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $36.00. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $28.27 and a twelve month high of $39.76.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The pipeline company reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.01. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 16.20% and a net margin of 29.22%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.53 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a dividend of $0.475 per share. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on WMB shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. US Capital Advisors cut shares of Williams Companies from an “overweight” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, Wolfe Research reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $34.00 price objective on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Thursday, April 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $39.22.

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.