Calamos Advisors LLC Lowers Stock Position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Calamos Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 277,743 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 3,628 shares during the quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $9,674,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WMB. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the first quarter worth about $54,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 32.3% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 10,414 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $347,000 after purchasing an additional 2,540 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. lifted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 1,001.1% during the first quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 101,026 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $3,375,000 after purchasing an additional 91,851 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 42.9% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 98,677 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $3,297,000 after purchasing an additional 29,625 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the first quarter worth about $319,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of WMB opened at $38.53 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $46.95 billion, a PE ratio of 14.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.88 and a beta of 1.05. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $36.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $35.68. 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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter last year, the firm earned $0.53 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.475 per share. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.93%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on WMB shares. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $34.00 target price on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Thursday. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $38.90.

Williams Companies Company 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.