Howard Capital Management Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Howard Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,652 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 331 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $685,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. WESPAC Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth $857,000. TCW Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Williams Companies by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 17,052 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $923,000 after acquiring an additional 427 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Funds Management LTD purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth $18,036,000. Cowa LLC boosted its position in Williams Companies by 38.0% during the fourth quarter. Cowa LLC now owns 6,920 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $375,000 after purchasing an additional 1,905 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sigma Planning Corp grew its stake in Williams Companies by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 31,733 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,717,000 after purchasing an additional 2,811 shares during the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on WMB. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $51.00 target price on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $46.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.29.

Williams Companies Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:WMB opened at $57.28 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $34.54 and a 52-week high of $61.46. The stock has a market cap of $69.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.30, a PEG ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.05. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $56.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $52.41.

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

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.49%. This is a positive change from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 109.29%.

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.