Central Bank & Trust Co. Reduces Holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Central Bank & Trust Co. trimmed its position in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 7.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 93,784 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 7,814 shares during the quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co.'s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $5,605,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Williams Companies by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,889 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $968,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Sprinkle Financial Consultants LLC increased its position in shares of Williams Companies by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Sprinkle Financial Consultants LLC now owns 5,073 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $275,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. AMG National Trust Bank increased its position in shares of Williams Companies by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 30,813 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,669,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Napa Wealth Management boosted its stake in Williams Companies by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Napa Wealth Management now owns 7,190 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $389,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Wealth Partners Inc. boosted its stake in Williams Companies by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 4,591 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $248,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of Williams Companies stock opened at $60.56 on Friday. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $40.41 and a 52 week high of $61.67. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $58.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $57.34. The firm has a market cap of $73.84 billion, a PE ratio of 33.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67.

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

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 3.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Williams Companies's payout ratio is 106.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Larry C. Larsen sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.94, for a total transaction of $455,520.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 81,265 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,627,229.10. This represents a 8.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.44% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on WMB. Barclays boosted their price objective on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Williams Companies from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday. CIBC boosted their price objective on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $63.00 price objective on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $61.25.

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.

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