Franklin Resources Inc. Increases Stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 14.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,341,474 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 293,776 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.19% of Williams Companies worth $126,721,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $720,000. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Williams Companies by 13.8% during the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 162,799 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $8,811,000 after acquiring an additional 19,782 shares during the period. Golden State Equity Partners increased its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 319.9% during the fourth quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 12,038 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $651,000 after purchasing an additional 9,171 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in Williams Companies by 81.4% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 185,920 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $10,062,000 after buying an additional 83,429 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Myriad Asset Management US LP purchased a new stake in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $995,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.46, for a total value of $1,467,960.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 133,048 shares in the company, valued at $7,511,890.08. The trade was a 16.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Larry C. Larsen sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.94, for a total value of $455,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 81,265 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,627,229.10. The trade was a 8.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 139,583 shares of company stock valued at $7,563,278. Insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of WMB stock opened at $61.64 on Thursday. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.18 and a 12 month high of $61.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The company has a market cap of $75.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.68, a PEG ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $57.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.86.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 21.17%. Sell-side analysts predict that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 109.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on WMB shares. CIBC lifted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams Companies has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.07.

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.