The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Shares Sold by 1620 Investment Advisors Inc.

1620 Investment Advisors Inc. reduced its position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 3.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,500 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 587 shares during the quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $785,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of WMB. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the third quarter worth $116,000. LMR Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the third quarter worth $256,000. Caprock Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 160.4% during the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 33,960 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,550,000 after purchasing an additional 20,917 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 7.2% during the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 13,714 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $626,000 after purchasing an additional 917 shares during the period. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the third quarter valued at $2,190,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams Companies Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:WMB opened at $59.74 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.64, a PEG ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.18 and a 1 year high of $61.46. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $57.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $53.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.50.

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

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a boost from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 109.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays raised their price target on Williams Companies from $46.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. CIBC lifted 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. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $55.07.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 8,896 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.50, for a total transaction of $511,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 22,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,284,492.50. This represents a 28.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the senior vice president now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 139,583 shares of company stock worth $7,563,278. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Williams Companies Company 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.