The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Shares Sold by Argent Advisors Inc.

Argent Advisors Inc. decreased its holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 36,701 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 711 shares during the quarter. Argent Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $1,986,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams Companies news, COO Micheal G. Dunn sold 96,687 shares of the business’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 transaction of $5,128,278.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 714,693 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,907,316.72. The trade was a 11.92 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $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. In the last three months, insiders sold 139,583 shares of company stock worth $7,563,278. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of Williams Companies stock opened at $58.42 on Tuesday. 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 Williams Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $36.84 and a twelve month high of $61.46. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $56.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.66. The firm has a market cap of $71.23 billion, a PE ratio of 31.92, a P/E/G ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.47. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 21.17%. Sell-side analysts predict that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a positive change from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is 109.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMB has been the subject of a number of research reports. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $46.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $55.07.

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.