Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Cuts Stock Position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. decreased its position in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 81.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,141 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 141,377 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $1,292,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Williams Companies in the first quarter worth about $27,000. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP bought a new stake in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Fairman Group LLC bought a new stake in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, CGC Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and set a $34.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, US Capital Advisors downgraded shares of Williams Companies from an "overweight" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $39.73.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In related news, SVP Debbie L. Pickle sold 38,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.61, for a total transaction of $1,513,102.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 60,410 shares in the company, valued at $2,392,840.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of WMB traded up $0.35 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $41.79. 4,967,786 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,881,989. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.42, a P/E/G ratio of 6.49 and a beta of 1.05. 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 12-month low of $28.27 and a 12-month high of $41.89. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $38.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.42.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.69 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 27.29% and a return on equity of 16.27%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.56 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 24th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.55%. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 79.83%.

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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