The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Stake Lowered by Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC cut its holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 654,166 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 11,731 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC owned about 0.05% of Williams Companies worth $29,863,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SouthState Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the second quarter worth about $31,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its position in shares of Williams Companies by 50.4% in the third quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 752 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the second quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.29, for a total transaction of $90,580.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 304,200 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,777,218. The trade was a 0.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,455,805.40. The trade was a 23.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

NYSE WMB traded up $0.20 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $56.65. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,619,825 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,284,911. The stock has a market cap of $69.06 billion, a PE ratio of 23.91, a PEG ratio of 6.00 and a beta of 1.05. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $32.65 and a 52 week high of $60.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $52.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.38.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.01. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.89% and a net margin of 27.36%. The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.45 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.35%. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 80.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on WMB. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Williams Companies from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $52.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Friday, October 4th. StockNews.com downgraded Williams Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. UBS Group increased their target price on Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $52.07.

Williams Companies Company Profile

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.