Comerica Bank Reduces Stock Holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Comerica Bank decreased its position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 5.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 442,337 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 27,205 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $23,939,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WMB. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new stake in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Sandy Spring Bank purchased a new stake in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. bought a new stake in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on WMB shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams Companies has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $57.77.

Williams Companies Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of WMB traded up $1.21 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $60.01. The company had a trading volume of 4,560,879 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,625,550. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.63 and a 52-week high of $61.67. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $57.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $56.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.79, a P/E/G ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.50.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.47. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 15.85%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 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 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Williams Companies's payout ratio is 109.29%.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Larry C. Larsen sold 8,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $4,627,229.10. The trade was a 8.96 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 8,896 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.50, for a total transaction of $511,520.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 22,339 shares in the company, valued at $1,284,492.50. This represents a 28.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 139,583 shares of company stock worth $7,563,278 over the last quarter. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.