Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS Trims Stock Holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS reduced its stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,025,492 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 8,844 shares during the quarter. Williams Companies comprises about 0.7% of Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS's portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS owned about 0.17% of Williams Companies worth $109,620,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 19.0% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,734,666 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,631,288,000 after buying an additional 5,697,605 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Williams Companies by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 30,722,702 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,398,004,000 after acquiring an additional 520,663 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its position in Williams Companies by 28.8% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 8,781,963 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $495,215,000 after acquiring an additional 1,964,421 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. raised its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 8,425,933 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $456,012,000 after purchasing an additional 234,423 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,405,951 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $400,810,000 after purchasing an additional 166,741 shares during the period. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Williams Companies Price Performance

WMB stock traded up $1.54 during trading on Monday, hitting $61.14. The stock had a trading volume of 6,314,136 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,182,036. The company's 50-day moving average price is $57.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $54.17. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.18 and a twelve month high of $61.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.41, a PEG ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03. 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 earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, meeting 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, research analysts predict that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.27%. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is 109.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays increased their price target on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday. CIBC boosted their price objective on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. One 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 $55.21.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In related news, COO Micheal G. Dunn sold 96,687 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 714,693 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,907,316.72. This trade represents a 11.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.46, for a total transaction of $1,467,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 139,583 shares of company stock valued at $7,563,278. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.