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

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 12.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,188,552 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 586,024 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.34% of Williams Companies worth $226,684,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WMB. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its holdings in Williams Companies by 36.3% during the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 195,037 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $8,903,000 after purchasing an additional 51,935 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 20.5% during the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 105,077 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $4,797,000 after buying an additional 17,875 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Williams Companies by 52.5% in the third quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,706 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $808,000 after acquiring an additional 6,099 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in Williams Companies by 224.1% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,334,307 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $60,909,000 after acquiring an additional 922,550 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zacks Investment Management grew its holdings in Williams Companies by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 129,056 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $5,891,000 after acquiring an additional 951 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of WMB opened at $54.61 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.84, a P/E/G ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.87. 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 Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.18 and a 1 year high of $61.67. The company’s fifty day moving average is $57.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $55.09.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last posted its quarterly 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, sell-side analysts predict that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.50 dividend. This is a boost from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.66%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 109.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup lifted 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 upped their target price 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. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.07.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

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

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.