The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Position Trimmed by Cresset Asset Management LLC

Cresset Asset Management LLC lowered its holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 29.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 114,993 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 48,828 shares during the quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $6,223,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $575,103,000. Blackstone Inc. boosted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 36.5% in the 4th quarter. Blackstone Inc. now owns 18,954,088 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,025,795,000 after buying an additional 5,068,738 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 2,303.2% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,517,336 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $190,358,000 after buying an additional 3,370,974 shares in the last quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP lifted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 69.1% in the fourth quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 5,055,184 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $273,587,000 after acquiring an additional 2,065,906 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 28.8% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 8,781,963 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $495,215,000 after acquiring an additional 1,964,421 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of WMB stock traded up $1.07 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $58.20. 2,510,657 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,640,181. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.57 and a 1 year high of $61.67. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $57.92 and a 200 day moving average of $56.76. 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 firm has a market cap of $70.97 billion, a PE ratio of 31.80, a PEG ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.66.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.05. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 15.85%. The firm had revenue of $3.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.59 earnings per share. Williams Companies's revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.44%. Williams Companies's payout ratio is 106.95%.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In other news, SVP Larry C. Larsen sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.94, for a total transaction of $455,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 81,265 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,627,229.10. This trade represents a 8.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Micheal G. Dunn sold 96,687 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.04, for a total transaction of $5,128,278.48. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 714,693 shares of the company's stock, valued at $37,907,316.72. The trade was a 11.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 139,583 shares of company stock worth $7,563,278. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on WMB. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. CIBC upped their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $60.50.

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.