RFG Advisory LLC Makes New Investment in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

RFG Advisory LLC acquired a new position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 5,887 shares of the pipeline company’s stock, valued at approximately $319,000.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of WMB. Creative Planning increased its position in shares of Williams Companies by 13.5% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 181,063 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $7,695,000 after purchasing an additional 21,504 shares in the last quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the second quarter worth about $242,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 20.2% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 207,629 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $8,824,000 after acquiring an additional 34,870 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 1.0% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 36,554 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,554,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of Williams Companies by 60.1% in the 2nd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,687 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 633 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMB has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Williams Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $52.00 to $58.00 in a report on Friday, October 4th. Barclays raised their target price on Williams Companies from $46.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Mizuho boosted their price target on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, CIBC raised their price objective on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.00.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WMB opened at $55.19 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $67.28 billion, a PE ratio of 23.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.31 and a beta of 1.06. 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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $56.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $50.49. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $32.65 and a 1 year high of $61.46.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business 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 company posted $0.45 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were given a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.17%.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In related news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.30, for a total value of $447,641.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 25,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,455,805.40. The trade was a 23.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

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.