The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Shares Sold by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. lessened its holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 76.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,047,698 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 6,762,346 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.17% of Williams Companies worth $93,477,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WMB. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its holdings in Williams Companies by 2.6% during the third quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 7,817 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $357,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the period. Dearborn Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC now owns 18,111 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $827,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in Williams Companies by 0.5% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 41,514 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,895,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Family Advisors LLC grew its stake in Williams Companies by 3.3% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Family Advisors LLC now owns 6,510 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its holdings in Williams Companies by 12.6% in the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,899 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WMB. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Williams Companies from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $52.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $52.07.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In related news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.30, for a total value of $447,641.30. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,858 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,455,805.40. The trade was a 23.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.29, for a total transaction of $90,580.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 304,200 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,777,218. This trade represents a 0.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Price Performance

NYSE WMB traded down $0.46 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $53.97. 7,352,849 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,359,069. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The firm's 50-day moving average is $54.50 and its 200-day moving average is $47.44. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $32.65 and a 52-week high of $60.36. The company has a market capitalization of $65.79 billion, a PE ratio of 22.97, a PEG ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 1.05.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.52 billion. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.89% and a net margin of 27.36%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.45 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.52%. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 80.17%.

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.