Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Lowers Position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. cut its position in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,844,807 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 28,666 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.23% of Williams Companies worth $153,961,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Williams Companies in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 50.4% during the third quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 752 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

WMB stock opened at $55.93 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $32.65 and a 1 year high of $61.46. The company has a market cap of $68.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.06 and a beta of 1.04. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $55.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.11.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last announced 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 return on equity of 15.89% and a net margin of 27.36%. The business had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.52 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.45 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.58%. This is a positive change from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is 80.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $51.00 price objective on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group raised their price target on Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.00.

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.