Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC Sells 43,243 Shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC decreased its stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,663,715 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 43,243 shares during the period. Williams Companies comprises about 1.0% of Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC's holdings, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC owned about 0.22% of Williams Companies worth $144,160,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth $575,103,000. Blackstone Inc. grew its holdings in Williams Companies by 36.5% in the fourth quarter. Blackstone Inc. now owns 18,954,088 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,025,795,000 after purchasing an additional 5,068,738 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in Williams Companies by 2,303.2% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,517,336 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $190,358,000 after purchasing an additional 3,370,974 shares during the period. Castle Hook Partners LP grew its holdings in Williams Companies by 69.1% in the fourth quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 5,055,184 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $273,587,000 after purchasing an additional 2,065,906 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi grew its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 28.8% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 8,781,963 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $495,215,000 after buying an additional 1,964,421 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In other news, COO Micheal G. Dunn sold 96,687 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.04, for a total value of $5,128,278.48. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 714,693 shares in the company, valued at $37,907,316.72. This represents a 11.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Larry C. Larsen sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.94, for a total transaction of $455,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 81,265 shares in the company, valued at $4,627,229.10. This trade represents a 8.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 139,583 shares of company stock valued at $7,563,278. 0.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Williams Companies Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of Williams Companies stock traded down $0.29 during trading on Monday, hitting $58.50. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,107,148 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,626,919. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.50. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $58.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $56.93. The company has a market capitalization of $71.33 billion, a PE ratio of 31.97, a P/E/G ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.66. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.88 and a 52 week high of $61.67.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $3.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 15.85%. Williams Companies's quarterly revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.59 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 106.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. CIBC lifted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $63.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Friday. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Truist Financial boosted their price target 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. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $60.50.

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.