ProShare Advisors LLC Sells 316,904 Shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

ProShare Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 50.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 316,266 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 316,904 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $17,116,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quent Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Sandy Spring Bank bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMB has been the topic of several research analyst reports. 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. Citigroup raised 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Williams Companies from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $63.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Friday. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $60.50.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of WMB opened at $58.77 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.88 and a 1 year high of $61.67. The stock has a market cap of $71.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.66. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $58.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $56.87.

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

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.40%. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 106.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams Companies news, COO Micheal G. Dunn sold 96,687 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.04, for a total value of $5,128,278.48. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 714,693 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,907,316.72. The trade was a 11.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were 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 owns 133,048 shares in the company, valued at $7,511,890.08. The trade was a 16.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 139,583 shares of company stock worth $7,563,278. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

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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