Carson Advisory Inc. Sells 2,393 Shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Carson Advisory Inc. cut its holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 12.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,667 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 2,393 shares during the quarter. Carson Advisory Inc.’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $581,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its stake in Williams Companies by 1,007.1% during the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 98,284 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $3,423,000 after buying an additional 89,406 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. increased its stake in Williams Companies by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 1,091,350 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $38,011,000 after buying an additional 78,102 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Williams Companies by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 6,301 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $219,000 after buying an additional 823 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $322,000. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 34,705 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,209,000 after acquiring an additional 5,228 shares during the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Williams Companies Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of WMB stock traded up $0.65 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $38.54. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,948,881 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,986,756. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $28.27 and a 12-month high of $39.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.96 billion, a PE ratio of 14.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $37.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $35.97.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The pipeline company reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.01. Williams Companies had a net margin of 29.22% and a return on equity of 16.20%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.53 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 24th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be issued a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.93%. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is currently 72.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMB has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wolfe Research reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $34.00 price objective on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. UBS Group raised their target price on Williams Companies from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. US Capital Advisors downgraded Williams Companies from an “overweight” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Truist Financial raised their target price on Williams Companies from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $39.22.

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.