Ameriprise Financial Inc. Sells 1,373,104 Shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. trimmed its position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 17.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,341,971 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 1,373,104 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.52% of Williams Companies worth $343,245,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WMB. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft grew its stake in Williams Companies by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 5,568 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $300,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Albion Financial Group UT boosted its holdings in Williams Companies by 18.4% in the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 1,184 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Sprinkle Financial Consultants LLC grew its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Sprinkle Financial Consultants LLC now owns 5,073 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $275,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. AMG National Trust Bank increased its stake in Williams Companies by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 30,813 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,669,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Wealth Partners Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 191 shares during the period. 86.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In other news, COO Micheal G. Dunn sold 96,687 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.04, for a total value of $5,128,278.48. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 714,693 shares in the company, valued at $37,907,316.72. This trade represents a 11.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Larry C. Larsen sold 8,000 shares of the business’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 sale, the senior vice president now 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 sold 139,583 shares of company stock valued at $7,563,278 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of WMB stock opened at $60.16 on Tuesday. 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 Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $38.63 and a 12-month high of $61.67. The business’s 50 day moving average is $57.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.57. The company has a market capitalization of $73.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.88, a P/E/G ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.66.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $3.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 21.17%. The business’s revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.59 EPS. Analysts expect that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.32%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 109.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on WMB shares. Barclays raised their price objective on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley upped 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. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, CIBC increased their price target on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.77.

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.