Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 37.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 493,347 shares of the pipeline company's stock after acquiring an additional 134,603 shares during the quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.'s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $22,521,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. SouthState Corp bought a new stake in Williams Companies during the second quarter valued at $31,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Williams Companies during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its stake in Williams Companies by 50.4% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the second quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new stake in Williams Companies in the second quarter valued at $42,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Shares of Williams Companies stock opened at $53.05 on Wednesday. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $32.65 and a twelve month high of $53.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market cap of $64.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.78 and a beta of 1.03. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $48.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.06.
Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.05. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 16.17% and a net margin of 27.11%. The business had revenue of $2.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.42 EPS. Williams Companies's revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.475 per share. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.58%. Williams Companies's payout ratio is presently 81.55%.
In related news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.29, for a total transaction of $90,580.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 304,200 shares in the company, valued at $13,777,218. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.44% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Several research firms have recently commented on WMB. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Williams Companies from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $52.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Friday, October 4th. CIBC raised their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group raised their target price on Williams Companies from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on Williams Companies in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $50.38.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on WMB
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.
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