NewEdge Advisors LLC Cuts Position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

NewEdge Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 235,737 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 6,410 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $12,758,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Sandy Spring Bank acquired a new position in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of WMB traded down $2.15 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $56.47. 5,402,862 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,623,856. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $57.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $55.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.86 billion, a PE ratio of 30.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.87. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.69 and a 52-week high of $61.67. 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 quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.47. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 15.85%. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.54%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Williams Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Williams Companies's payout ratio is 109.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. CIBC boosted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Truist Financial raised their price target on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Williams Companies presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $57.77.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In other news, COO Micheal G. Dunn sold 96,687 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was 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 owns 714,693 shares in the company, valued at $37,907,316.72. This 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 available through this link. Also, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,511,890.08. This represents a 16.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 139,583 shares of company stock valued at $7,563,278 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

About Williams Companies

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.