Insider Selling: The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) CAO Sells 8,896 Shares of Stock

The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 8,896 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.50, for a total transaction of $511,520.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Williams Companies Trading Down 0.6 %

Williams Companies stock traded down $0.36 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $56.45. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,623,555 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,670,428. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $56.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.98. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $68.83 billion, a PE ratio of 30.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.04. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $35.74 and a 1 year high of $61.46.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 15.85%. On average, analysts anticipate that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.54%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is currently 109.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $51.00 price objective on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Royal Bank of Canada increased 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. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Williams Companies from $46.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $54.93.

Institutional Trading of Williams Companies

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WMB. Comprehensive Money Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $952,000. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH grew its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 45.3% in the fourth quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 22,800 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,234,000 after acquiring an additional 7,113 shares in the last quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth $212,000. Menard Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $43,029,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.