Cerity Partners LLC Grows Stock Holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 88.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 76,389 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 35,851 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $2,660,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WMB. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 52.5% during the 2nd quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 915 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Carmel Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on WMB shares. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Barclays lifted their price target 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. Wolfe Research reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $34.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $38.90.

Williams Companies Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE WMB opened at $37.58 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $45.79 billion, a PE ratio of 14.34, a P/E/G ratio of 5.89 and a beta of 1.05. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $28.27 and a one year high of $39.76. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $36.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.65.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The pipeline company reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $0.53 EPS. Analysts expect that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.06%. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is 72.52%.

Williams Companies Company 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.