Coldstream Capital Management Inc. Increases Stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,420 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 657 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $607,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 331,141 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $11,534,000 after acquiring an additional 7,668 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth $894,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth $306,417,000. ING Groep NV increased its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 339.1% in the 4th quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 15,856 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $552,000 after acquiring an additional 12,245 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund increased its position in shares of Williams Companies by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 43,339 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,509,000 after purchasing an additional 537 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on WMB shares. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Williams Companies from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 25th. US Capital Advisors downgraded Williams Companies from an “overweight” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Barclays raised their price objective on Williams Companies from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Williams Companies from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Williams Companies from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $39.73.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Debbie L. Pickle sold 38,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.61, for a total transaction of $1,513,102.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 60,410 shares in the company, valued at $2,392,840.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of WMB opened at $40.72 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $36.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.63 billion, a PE ratio of 17.11, a PEG ratio of 6.68 and a beta of 1.05. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $28.27 and a 1 year high of $41.89.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.69 billion. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 16.27% and a net margin of 27.29%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.56 EPS. On average, analysts predict that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.67%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is presently 79.83%.

About Williams Companies

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.