Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Sells 24,228 Shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC cut its stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,046,920 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 24,228 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC owned 0.09% of Williams Companies worth $36,464,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Patten Group Inc. grew its stake in Williams Companies by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Patten Group Inc. now owns 23,899 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $832,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 2.9% in the third quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,476 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $353,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares during the period. Horan Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of Williams Companies by 2.6% in the third quarter. Horan Securities Inc. now owns 11,753 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $396,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Graypoint LLC boosted its stake in Williams Companies by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 12,263 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $427,000 after buying an additional 307 shares during the period. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its position in Williams Companies by 20.8% during the third quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 1,803 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Williams Companies Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of Williams Companies stock traded up $0.11 on Wednesday, hitting $40.47. The stock had a trading volume of 7,798,040 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,925,494. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $28.27 and a one year high of $40.71. The stock has a market cap of $49.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.04, a PEG ratio of 6.13 and a beta of 1.05. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $38.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $36.25.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.10. Williams Companies had a net margin of 27.29% and a return on equity of 16.27%. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.56 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 24th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be issued a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 79.83%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on WMB shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. US Capital Advisors downgraded shares of Williams Companies from an "overweight" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and issued a $34.00 target price on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Williams Companies has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $39.42.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In related news, SVP Debbie L. Pickle sold 38,200 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.61, for a total value of $1,513,102.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 60,410 shares in the company, valued at $2,392,840.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by company 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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