The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Shares Sold by Generali Investments Management Co LLC

Generali Investments Management Co LLC decreased its stake in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 42.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,781 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 7,918 shares during the period. Generali Investments Management Co LLC's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $644,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Menard Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Sandy Spring Bank bought a new position in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. bought a new stake in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Williams Companies Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:WMB opened at $60.47 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $58.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $57.34. 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 $40.41 and a 12-month high of $61.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.65.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.60 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 firm had revenue of $3.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.59 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 106.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup upped their price target on Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $63.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Williams Companies from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Seven investment 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, Williams Companies has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $61.25.

Insider Activity

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Larry C. Larsen sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 81,265 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,627,229.10. This represents a 8.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Williams Companies

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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