Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. trimmed its stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 42.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,470 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 8,291 shares during the quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc.'s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $621,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WMB. Quent Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the third quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams Companies Price Performance

NYSE:WMB traded down $0.16 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $59.60. 13,202,428 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,825,875. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $57.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The company has a market cap of $72.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.18 and a 1 year high of $61.46.

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Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 earnings per share 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. This is a boost from Williams Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 109.29%.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In related news, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 133,048 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,511,890.08. This trade represents a 16.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 8,896 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.50, for a total transaction of $511,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 22,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,284,492.50. The trade was a 28.48 % 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 valued at $7,563,278. 0.44% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WMB. CIBC boosted their target price on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Scotiabank lifted their target price 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. One investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $55.21.

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.