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

WBI Investments LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 50.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 45,734 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 46,852 shares during the period. WBI Investments LLC's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $1,593,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WMB. Enterprise Financial Services Corp acquired a new position in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $252,000. King Luther Capital Management Corp raised its holdings in Williams Companies by 230.3% during the fourth quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 43,643 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,520,000 after purchasing an additional 30,428 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Williams Companies by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,647 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $301,000 after purchasing an additional 771 shares during the period. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP bought a new position in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Finally, L.M. Kohn & Company acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $203,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMB has been the subject of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Williams Companies from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Truist Financial lifted 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. US Capital Advisors cut shares of Williams Companies from an "overweight" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Barclays upped their price target on Williams Companies from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Williams Companies from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams Companies has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $39.73.

Insider Activity

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Debbie L. Pickle sold 38,200 shares of the 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 60,410 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,392,840.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Williams Companies Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE:WMB traded down $1.06 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $40.72. 6,253,601 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,875,646. The company has a market capitalization of $49.63 billion, a PE ratio of 17.56, a P/E/G ratio of 6.51 and a beta of 1.05. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $28.27 and a 52-week high of $41.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.52. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $38.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $36.46.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.69 billion. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 16.27% and a net margin of 27.29%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.56 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.67%. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WMB? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.