Micheal G. Dunn Sells 96,687 Shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Stock

The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) COO Micheal G. Dunn sold 96,687 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.04, for a total value of $5,128,278.48. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 714,693 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,907,316.72. This represents a 11.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMB traded down $0.23 during trading on Thursday, reaching $56.08. The company had a trading volume of 7,911,715 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,903,958. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $36.56 and a twelve month high of $61.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.38 billion, a PE ratio of 30.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03. The firm's fifty day moving average is $56.76 and its 200 day moving average is $53.35.

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 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

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Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Williams Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.57%. Williams Companies's payout ratio is 109.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMB has been the subject of several research reports. CIBC lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays upped their target price on Williams Companies from $46.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $55.07.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams Companies

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Williams Companies by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 130,356,165 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $7,054,876,000 after purchasing an additional 1,008,213 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in 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 lifted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 31,263,235 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,687,797,000 after acquiring an additional 540,533 shares during the last quarter. Blackstone Inc. lifted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 36.5% during the 4th quarter. Blackstone Inc. now owns 18,954,088 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,025,795,000 after acquiring an additional 5,068,738 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 15,236,940 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $824,623,000 after acquiring an additional 1,696,618 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

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.