Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC Sells 1,230 Shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC cut its position in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 24.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,747 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 1,230 shares during the period. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $203,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 6,196.1% in the 4th quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 774,668 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $41,925,000 after buying an additional 762,364 shares during the last quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Williams Companies by 129.0% during the fourth quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 21,171 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,146,000 after acquiring an additional 11,927 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors raised its position in Williams Companies by 89.5% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 22,600 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,223,000 after purchasing an additional 10,671 shares during the period. Cinctive Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,808,000. Finally, Private Portfolio Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 28.0% in the 4th quarter. Private Portfolio Partners LLC now owns 9,531 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $516,000 after purchasing an additional 2,086 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Trading Down 7.5 %

Shares of NYSE WMB opened at $54.61 on Friday. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.18 and a twelve month high of $61.67. The firm has a market cap of $66.59 billion, a PE ratio of 29.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.87. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $57.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.95. 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) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 15.85%. Analysts expect that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.66%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 109.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays raised their price target on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price target on Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.07.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In other news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 8,896 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.50, for a total value of $511,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 22,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,284,492.50. The trade was a 28.48 % 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 company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.46, for a total value of $1,467,960.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 133,048 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. Insiders have sold a total of 139,583 shares of company stock valued at $7,563,278 over the last ninety days. 0.44% of the stock is owned by company 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.