The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) is Westwood Holdings Group Inc.’s 2nd Largest Position

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lessened its holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,205,424 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 157,506 shares during the period. Williams Companies makes up approximately 1.8% of Westwood Holdings Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $227,598,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Sandy Spring Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In other news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 8,896 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.50, for a total value of $511,520.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 22,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,284,492.50. The trade was a 28.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Micheal G. Dunn sold 96,687 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.04, for a total transaction of $5,128,278.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 714,693 shares in the company, valued at $37,907,316.72. This represents a 11.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 139,583 shares of company stock valued at $7,563,278. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMB has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. CIBC lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.50.

Williams Companies Trading Down 0.0%

Williams Companies stock opened at $58.77 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $58.24 and its 200-day moving average is $56.93. 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 Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.88 and a 1 year high of $61.67. The company has a market cap of $71.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.11, a PEG ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.66.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.05. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 15.85%. The business had revenue of $3.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.59 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.40%. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is 106.95%.

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.