Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Put Options on Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB)

The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Traders bought 14,453 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 22% compared to the typical daily volume of 11,855 put options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on WMB shares. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays raised their target price 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. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, CIBC boosted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams Companies presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $56.07.

Williams Companies Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of WMB stock traded down $0.47 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $59.48. 5,358,976 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,190,697. 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 stock has a market cap of $72.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.50, a PEG ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $57.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $54.32. Williams Companies has a 12-month low of $37.18 and a 12-month high of $61.67.

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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 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.47. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 21.17%. On average, analysts expect that Williams Companies will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders 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 positive change from Williams Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 109.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Larry C. Larsen sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.94, for a total transaction of $455,520.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 81,265 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,627,229.10. This represents a 8.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Micheal G. Dunn sold 96,687 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were 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 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. Insiders have sold a total of 139,583 shares of company stock worth $7,563,278 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams Companies

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMB. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Menard Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Sandy Spring Bank bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

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.