Bank of Montreal Can Reduces Holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Bank of Montreal Can lessened its position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,788,517 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 215,276 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can owned about 0.23% of Williams Companies worth $125,929,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 20.1% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 6,117,298 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $259,985,000 after purchasing an additional 1,024,158 shares during the last quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. grew its holdings in Williams Companies by 8.8% in the 2nd quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 7,664,152 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $325,726,000 after buying an additional 618,056 shares in the last quarter. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 26.8% in the 3rd quarter. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC now owns 2,097,941 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $95,771,000 after acquiring an additional 443,423 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 102.2% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 865,538 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $39,512,000 after acquiring an additional 437,486 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 180.6% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 638,120 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $24,868,000 after acquiring an additional 410,705 shares during the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams Companies Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of WMB stock traded down $0.41 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $57.96. The company's stock had a trading volume of 349,067 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,278,907. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $32.65 and a 1-year high of $60.36. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $51.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $46.00. The company has a market capitalization of $70.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.62, a P/E/G ratio of 5.99 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.51.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.52 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 27.36% and a return on equity of 15.89%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.45 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.92 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Williams Companies's payout ratio is presently 80.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on WMB. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com cut Williams Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. CIBC raised their target price on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on Williams Companies from $42.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $51.79.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In related news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.30, for a total transaction of $447,641.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 25,858 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,455,805.40. The trade was a 23.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.29, for a total value of $90,580.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 304,200 shares in the company, valued at $13,777,218. This trade represents a 0.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate 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.