GS Investments Inc. Has $4.66 Million Position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

GS Investments Inc. cut its holdings in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 86,080 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 4,900 shares during the period. Williams Companies accounts for approximately 2.1% of GS Investments Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. GS Investments Inc.’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $4,659,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted its position in Williams Companies by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 5,568 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $300,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Albion Financial Group UT grew its position in Williams Companies by 18.4% during the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 1,184 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Sprinkle Financial Consultants LLC increased its position in shares of Williams Companies by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Sprinkle Financial Consultants LLC now owns 5,073 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $275,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. AMG National Trust Bank increased its holdings in Williams Companies by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 30,813 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,669,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the period. Finally, Tower Wealth Partners Inc. increased its position in Williams Companies by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 4,591 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $248,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMB has been the topic of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. 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. Citigroup raised their price objective on Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. CIBC raised their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams Companies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $55.07.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of WMB opened at $59.37 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $56.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $53.79. The stock has a market cap of $72.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.44, a PEG ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.18 and a 52 week high of $61.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last released 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 net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 15.85%. On average, analysts expect that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.37%. This is an increase from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 109.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Williams Companies news, 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 transaction of $1,467,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 133,048 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,511,890.08. The trade was a 16.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Micheal G. Dunn sold 96,687 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.04, for a total transaction of $5,128,278.48. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now 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 three months, insiders sold 139,583 shares of company stock valued at $7,563,278. Insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

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.