The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Shares Sold by Eagle Global Advisors LLC

Eagle Global Advisors LLC cut its holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 14.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 701,309 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 123,038 shares during the quarter. Williams Companies comprises approximately 1.6% of Eagle Global Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Eagle Global Advisors LLC owned about 0.06% of Williams Companies worth $37,955,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WMB. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Sandy Spring Bank acquired a new position in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams Companies Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE WMB traded up $0.61 on Friday, hitting $57.67. The company had a trading volume of 3,845,632 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,656,954. 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 12-month low of $39.57 and a 12-month high of $61.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.51, a PEG ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.66. The business has a 50 day moving average of $57.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $56.70.

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

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 106.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on WMB shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. CIBC boosted their price target on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays raised their price objective on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $60.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.46, for a total transaction of $1,467,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 133,048 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,511,890.08. This represents a 16.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 8,896 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.50, for a total transaction of $511,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly 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 a total of 139,583 shares of company stock valued at $7,563,278 over the last 90 days. 0.44% of the stock is owned by company 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.