Cresset Asset Management LLC Sells 48,828 Shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Cresset Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 29.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 114,993 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 48,828 shares during the quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $6,223,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $575,103,000. Blackstone Inc. increased its holdings in Williams Companies by 36.5% in the 4th quarter. Blackstone Inc. now owns 18,954,088 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,025,795,000 after acquiring an additional 5,068,738 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in Williams Companies by 2,303.2% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,517,336 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $190,358,000 after acquiring an additional 3,370,974 shares during the period. Castle Hook Partners LP lifted its holdings in Williams Companies by 69.1% during the fourth quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 5,055,184 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $273,587,000 after purchasing an additional 2,065,906 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its holdings in Williams Companies by 28.8% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 8,781,963 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $495,215,000 after purchasing an additional 1,964,421 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In other news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 8,896 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.50, for a total transaction of $511,520.00. Following 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Micheal G. Dunn sold 96,687 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were 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 directly owns 714,693 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,907,316.72. This represents a 11.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 139,583 shares of company stock valued at $7,563,278. Insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Williams Companies stock opened at $59.00 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $71.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.24, a PEG ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $57.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $56.60. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $38.76 and a 52 week high of $61.67.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $3.05 billion during 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%. Williams Companies’s revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.59 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 109.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on WMB shares. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Scotiabank lifted 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. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Williams Companies from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.15.

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.