Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. Sells 12,221 Shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. lessened its holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 333,950 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 12,221 shares during the quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.'s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $18,073,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Williams Companies by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 130,356,165 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $7,054,876,000 after purchasing an additional 1,008,213 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Williams Companies by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 31,263,235 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,687,797,000 after buying an additional 540,533 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $575,103,000. Amundi raised its holdings in Williams Companies by 28.8% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 8,781,963 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $495,215,000 after acquiring an additional 1,964,421 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lifted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 8,425,933 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $456,012,000 after acquiring an additional 234,423 shares during the period. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In other news, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.46, for a total value of $1,467,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 133,048 shares in the company, valued at $7,511,890.08. The trade was a 16.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 8,896 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 $1,284,492.50. The trade was a 28.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 139,583 shares of company stock worth $7,563,278 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE WMB traded down $0.56 on Friday, reaching $59.05. The company had a trading volume of 4,471,067 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,635,267. The firm has a market cap of $72.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.27, a P/E/G ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.87. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.69 and a fifty-two week high of $61.67. The business has a 50 day moving average of $57.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $56.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.50 and a quick ratio of 0.45.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 21.17%. Analysts forecast that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Williams Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 109.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on WMB. Truist Financial upped their price objective 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. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Citigroup raised their target price on Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays upped their price objective on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $57.77.

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.