Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. Buys 152,604 Shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. raised its position in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 7.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,339,696 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after acquiring an additional 152,604 shares during the quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. owned approximately 0.19% of Williams Companies worth $81,492,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WMB. Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc. grew its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc. now owns 425,395 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $14,817,000 after acquiring an additional 9,831 shares during the period. Intrust Bank NA increased its holdings in Williams Companies by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 46,881 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,633,000 after acquiring an additional 2,283 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. boosted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 13,186 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $459,000 after purchasing an additional 580 shares during the period. Paradiem LLC boosted its stake in Williams Companies by 39.3% in the 4th quarter. Paradiem LLC now owns 202,452 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $7,051,000 after purchasing an additional 57,078 shares during the period. Finally, Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at $1,434,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of WMB traded down $0.55 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $38.66. The company had a trading volume of 2,564,580 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,924,327. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. The company has a market capitalization of $47.10 billion, a PE ratio of 14.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.14 and a beta of 1.04. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $28.27 and a one year high of $39.76. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $37.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $35.93.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The pipeline company reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.01. Williams Companies had a net margin of 29.22% and a return on equity of 16.20%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.53 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.475 per share. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.91%. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is currently 72.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMB has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their target price on Williams Companies from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Williams Companies from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, Wolfe Research reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $34.00 target price on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $39.22.

About Williams Companies

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.