Stifel Financial Corp Sells 1,001,458 Shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Stifel Financial Corp decreased its stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 20.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,842,281 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 1,001,458 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp owned approximately 0.32% of Williams Companies worth $207,943,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In related news, SVP Larry C. Larsen sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.94, for a total transaction of $455,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 81,265 shares in the company, valued at $4,627,229.10. This represents a 8.96 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 8,896 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.50, for a total value of $511,520.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 22,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,284,492.50. This trade represents a 28.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 139,583 shares of company stock valued at $7,563,278 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on WMB shares. Citigroup raised their price objective on Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Barclays upped their price objective on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, CIBC upped their price target on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $57.77.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

WMB traded up $0.27 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $58.47. The stock had a trading volume of 5,750,609 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,628,474. The company's 50-day moving average price is $57.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $55.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.95, a PEG ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.87. 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 Williams Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.69 and a twelve month high of $61.67.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates 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 forecast that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.42%. This is an increase from Williams Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 109.29%.

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.