Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC reduced its stake in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 42,034 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 958 shares during the quarter. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $2,275,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its holdings in Williams Companies by 50.4% in the third quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 752 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the period. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Williams Companies during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of WMB stock opened at $59.13 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $56.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $49.52. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $32.65 and a 52 week high of $60.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.08 billion, a PE ratio of 24.95, a P/E/G ratio of 5.36 and a beta of 1.06.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.52 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 27.36% and a return on equity of 15.89%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.45 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 80.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on WMB shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. Barclays lifted 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 report on Friday, January 10th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Williams Companies from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.30, for a total transaction of $447,641.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 25,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,455,805.40. This represents a 23.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

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.