Financial Counselors Inc. Cuts Stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Financial Counselors Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 9.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,069,376 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 113,161 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc. owned about 0.09% of Williams Companies worth $57,875,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WMB. Quent Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new stake in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Sandy Spring Bank purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new position in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on WMB shares. CIBC increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup increased their target price 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. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $56.07.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Larry C. Larsen sold 8,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.94, for a total value of $455,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 81,265 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,627,229.10. The trade was a 8.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 8,896 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.50, for a total transaction of $511,520.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 22,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,284,492.50. The trade was a 28.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 139,583 shares of company stock worth $7,563,278. 0.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of Williams Companies stock opened at $60.78 on Wednesday. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.18 and a 12 month high of $61.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.21, a P/E/G ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $57.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.29.

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

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 109.29%.

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.