Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Sells 19,690 Shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio cut its stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 422,422 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 19,690 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $22,861,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $141,000. Vise Technologies Inc. increased its position in shares of Williams Companies by 123.3% during the 4th quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 27,608 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,494,000 after purchasing an additional 15,244 shares in the last quarter. Pinkerton Retirement Specialists LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $863,000. 10Elms LLP bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $170,000. Finally, BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp grew its position in shares of Williams Companies by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 233,415 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $12,632,000 after buying an additional 30,058 shares during the period. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Williams Companies Stock Down 0.7%

WMB stock traded down $0.40 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $60.22. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,659,401 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,690,899. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.50 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $40.06 and a twelve month high of $61.67. The company's fifty day moving average price is $58.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $57.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.91, a PEG ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.66.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 analysts' expectations of $2.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.59 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.32%. Williams Companies's payout ratio is 106.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup lifted their price target 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $63.00 price objective on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Friday, May 16th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $60.75.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 8,896 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.50, for a total transaction of $511,520.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 22,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,284,492.50. This trade represents a 28.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Micheal G. Dunn sold 96,687 shares of the 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 owns 714,693 shares in the company, valued at $37,907,316.72. This represents a 11.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 113,583 shares of company stock valued at $6,095,318. 0.44% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.