Modera Wealth Management LLC Makes New $262,000 Investment in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Modera Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 4,843 shares of the pipeline company’s stock, valued at approximately $262,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WMB. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new position in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 8,896 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.50, for a total value of $511,520.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 22,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,284,492.50. This represents a 28.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.46, for a total transaction of $1,467,960.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 133,048 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,511,890.08. The trade was a 16.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMB opened at $56.31 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $56.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $53.00. The company has a market cap of $68.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.77, a PEG ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.50. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $35.74 and a one year high of $61.46.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 15.85%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This is a boost from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 109.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on WMB. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $51.00 price objective on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Friday, January 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $54.93.

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.