Soviero Asset Management LP Trims Position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Soviero Asset Management LP decreased its holdings in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 5.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 80,000 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 5,000 shares during the quarter. Williams Companies accounts for approximately 2.7% of Soviero Asset Management LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Soviero Asset Management LP's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $4,330,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Larry C. Larsen sold 8,000 shares of Williams Companies 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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.46, for a total value of $1,467,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 133,048 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,511,890.08. This trade represents a 16.35% 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 in the last ninety days. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WMB. CIBC increased their target price on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Barclays increased their target price on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $63.00 target price on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their target price on Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $60.50.

Williams Companies Stock Down 0.3%

NYSE:WMB traded down $0.20 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $57.73. 6,186,698 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,629,497. 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's 50-day simple moving average is $58.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $57.00. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $39.88 and a one year high of $61.67. The company has a market cap of $70.39 billion, a PE ratio of 31.55, a PEG ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.66.

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 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.59 EPS. The business's revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 106.95%.

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.