Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. Cuts Stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. cut its holdings in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 333,950 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 12,221 shares during the period. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $18,073,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Williams Companies by 3.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 3,271,141 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $149,326,000 after acquiring an additional 108,675 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $545,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,346,000. Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in Williams Companies by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 41,514 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,895,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 48.8% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 19,533 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $892,000 after buying an additional 6,409 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Stock Up 0.5 %

WMB stock opened at $58.47 on Thursday. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $37.69 and a one year high of $61.67. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $57.51 and its 200 day moving average is $55.99. The firm has a market cap of $71.30 billion, a PE ratio of 31.95, a P/E/G ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.87.

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

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.42%. This is an increase from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 109.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WMB shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective 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. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. CIBC raised their price objective on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays upped their target price on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target 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. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.77.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Larry C. Larsen sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.94, for a total transaction of $455,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 81,265 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,627,229.10. This represents a 8.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Micheal G. Dunn sold 96,687 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 714,693 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,907,316.72. This trade represents a 11.92 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 139,583 shares of company stock valued at $7,563,278. 0.44% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Williams Companies 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.