The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Shares Sold by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. reduced its stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 7.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,834,879 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 227,624 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned approximately 0.23% of Williams Companies worth $120,482,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its stake in Williams Companies by 5.9% in the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 20,983,727 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $817,736,000 after acquiring an additional 1,175,628 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Williams Companies by 21.3% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,593,482 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $403,801,000 after buying an additional 2,039,703 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $306,417,000. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP boosted its position in Williams Companies by 13.4% in the first quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP now owns 8,540,611 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $332,828,000 after purchasing an additional 1,010,658 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in Williams Companies by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 8,421,205 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $328,174,000 after purchasing an additional 55,248 shares during the period. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:WMB traded up $0.89 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $45.02. 5,635,141 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,570,925. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $32.49 and a 52 week high of $45.10. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.54, a P/E/G ratio of 5.99 and a beta of 1.05.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $2.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.46 billion. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 16.17% and a net margin of 27.11%. The company's revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.42 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.475 per share. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.83%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMB has been the topic of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. CIBC lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. US Capital Advisors cut shares of Williams Companies from an "overweight" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $42.58.

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.