Financial Counselors Inc. Has $57.88 Million Stock Holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Financial Counselors Inc. reduced its stake in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 9.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,069,376 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 113,161 shares during the quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. owned about 0.09% of Williams Companies worth $57,875,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WMB. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Sandy Spring Bank acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on 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 company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $56.07.

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Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Larry C. Larsen sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.94, for a total value of $455,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 81,265 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,627,229.10. This trade represents a 8.96 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of Williams Companies 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 directly owns 133,048 shares in the company, valued at $7,511,890.08. The trade was a 16.35 % 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 company insiders.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

WMB traded down $0.19 during trading on Friday, hitting $59.24. The stock had a trading volume of 5,451,542 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,493,044. The company has a current ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $57.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $54.53. The firm has a market cap of $72.24 billion, a PE ratio of 32.37, a P/E/G ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.18 and a 12 month high of $61.67.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 21.17%. Analysts expect that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.38%. This is a positive change from Williams Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 109.29%.

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.