The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Shares Sold by Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. decreased its stake in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 51.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,050 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 8,580 shares during the period. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $436,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 5,568 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $300,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Albion Financial Group UT increased its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 18.4% during the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 1,184 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Sprinkle Financial Consultants LLC increased its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Sprinkle Financial Consultants LLC now owns 5,073 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $275,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. AMG National Trust Bank grew its holdings in Williams Companies by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 30,813 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,669,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Wealth Partners Inc. grew its holdings in Williams Companies by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 4,591 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $248,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on WMB. CIBC raised their price objective on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Williams Companies presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $57.77.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 133,048 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,511,890.08. This trade represents a 16.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Larry C. Larsen sold 8,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 81,265 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,627,229.10. The trade was a 8.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 139,583 shares of company stock worth $7,563,278 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Stock Down 0.1 %

NYSE:WMB traded down $0.04 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $59.62. The company had a trading volume of 1,404,646 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,608,641. The firm has a market cap of $72.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.55, a P/E/G ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.87. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.69 and a twelve month high of $61.67. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $57.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $56.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.47. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 15.85%. On average, equities analysts expect that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

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.