The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Shares Sold by Avantax Advisory Services Inc.

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. reduced its position in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 25.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 72,740 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 25,094 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $3,937,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WMB. Great Lakes Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 47,714 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,582,000 after purchasing an additional 408 shares in the last quarter. SHEPHERD WEALTH MANAGEMENT Ltd LIABILITY Co bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth $225,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,961 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $485,000 after purchasing an additional 848 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 40,891 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,213,000 after purchasing an additional 4,432 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Warburton Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,258,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of WMB stock opened at $57.33 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $56.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $53.51. 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 $36.84 and a 12 month high of $61.46. The company has a market capitalization of $69.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.33, a P/E/G ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.47. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 21.17%. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This is an increase from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.49%. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is presently 109.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WMB. Citigroup raised their target price on Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays upped 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. Scotiabank upped their target price on Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $55.07.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In other news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 8,896 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.50, for a total value of $511,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 22,339 shares of the company’s stock, 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 accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction 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 directly 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 quarter, insiders sold 139,583 shares of company stock worth $7,563,278. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Williams Companies

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.