The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Shares Sold by ClearBridge Investments Ltd

ClearBridge Investments Ltd decreased its holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 18.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,530,690 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 346,955 shares during the quarter. Williams Companies accounts for about 2.2% of ClearBridge Investments Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. ClearBridge Investments Ltd owned approximately 0.13% of Williams Companies worth $82,841,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WMB. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth $720,000. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Williams Companies by 13.8% during the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 162,799 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $8,811,000 after acquiring an additional 19,782 shares during the period. Golden State Equity Partners grew its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 319.9% in the fourth quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 12,038 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $651,000 after purchasing an additional 9,171 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in Williams Companies by 81.4% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 185,920 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $10,062,000 after acquiring an additional 83,429 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Myriad Asset Management US LP bought a new position in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth approximately $995,000. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

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Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.46, for a total value of $1,467,960.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 133,048 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,511,890.08. This trade represents a 16.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Micheal G. Dunn sold 96,687 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 directly 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 139,583 shares of company stock worth $7,563,278. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of WMB stock traded up $1.07 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $61.64. The company had a trading volume of 6,929,337 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,501,998. The stock has a market cap of $75.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.68, a PEG ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $57.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $54.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.50 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.18 and a 52-week high of $61.85.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 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%. Research analysts anticipate that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.24%. This is an increase from Williams Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Williams Companies's payout ratio is presently 109.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WMB. Citigroup upped their price objective 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. Scotiabank upped their price target on Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Barclays raised their price target on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $56.07.

Williams Companies 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.