Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. Increases Stock Holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,630 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after buying an additional 1,530 shares during the quarter. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $759,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of WMB. SouthState Corp acquired a new position in Williams Companies in the second quarter valued at $31,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at about $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 position in Williams Companies during the second quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new stake in Williams Companies in the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WMB opened at $59.65 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $51.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $45.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.17, a PEG ratio of 6.14 and a beta of 1.03. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $32.65 and a one year high of $60.36.

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

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.19%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 80.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WMB. CIBC raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Williams Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $52.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Williams Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Scotiabank raised their price target on Williams Companies from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.54.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams Companies 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 value of $447,641.30. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.29, for a total transaction of $90,580.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 304,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,777,218. This trade represents a 0.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.44% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.