The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Shares Sold by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. decreased its holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 11.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 5,482,482 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 674,596 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.45% of Williams Companies worth $296,712,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WMB. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 46.2% in the 4th quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 115,535 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $6,253,000 after acquiring an additional 36,494 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,062,000. Sciencast Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $2,074,000. ZEGA Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $565,000. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of Williams Companies stock traded down $0.99 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $59.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,935,958 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,194,233. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $37.18 and a one year high of $61.67. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $57.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $54.29. 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 stock has a market cap of $73.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03.

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

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. 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 3.34%. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 109.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Scotiabank upped their price target on Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. CIBC boosted their price target on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. One research 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, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $56.07.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In related news, SVP Larry C. Larsen sold 8,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.94, for a total value of $455,520.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 81,265 shares in the company, valued at $4,627,229.10. This trade represents a 8.96 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Micheal G. Dunn sold 96,687 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 714,693 shares of the company's stock, 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 139,583 shares of company stock worth $7,563,278. 0.44% of the stock is 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.