The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Holdings Cut by Smith Moore & CO.

Smith Moore & CO. lessened its holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 40.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,084 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 5,390 shares during the quarter. Smith Moore & CO.'s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $438,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Williams Companies Price Performance

NYSE:WMB traded up $1.17 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $56.24. 7,477,342 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,666,684. 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 capitalization of $68.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.87. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.18 and a 12 month high of $61.67. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $57.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $55.43.

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Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 21.17%. Sell-side analysts expect that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Williams Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Williams Companies's payout ratio is presently 109.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In other news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 8,896 shares of Williams Companies 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Micheal G. Dunn sold 96,687 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.04, for a total value of $5,128,278.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 714,693 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $37,907,316.72. This represents a 11.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 139,583 shares of company stock valued at $7,563,278. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on WMB. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $56.07.

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.