Sentry Investment Management LLC Sells 684 Shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Sentry Investment Management LLC trimmed its stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 9.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,372 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 684 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $222,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WMB. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the first quarter worth approximately $54,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 32.3% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 10,414 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $347,000 after buying an additional 2,540 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 1,001.1% in the first quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 101,026 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $3,375,000 after buying an additional 91,851 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 42.9% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 98,677 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $3,297,000 after buying an additional 29,625 shares during the period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the first quarter worth approximately $319,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams Companies Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE WMB opened at $37.65 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.87 billion, a PE ratio of 14.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.88 and a beta of 1.05. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $36.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $35.62. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $28.27 and a 12-month high of $39.76.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The pipeline company reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.01. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 16.20% and a net margin of 29.22%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.53 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.05%. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is 72.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays increased their price target on Williams Companies from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Williams Companies from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Williams Companies from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $39.00.

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.