LPL Financial LLC Reduces Stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

LPL Financial LLC cut its stake in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 13.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,138,410 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 325,744 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned 0.18% of Williams Companies worth $115,731,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Williams Companies by 19.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,734,666 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,631,288,000 after purchasing an additional 5,697,605 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Williams Companies by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 30,722,702 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,398,004,000 after buying an additional 520,663 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its position in shares of Williams Companies by 28.8% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 8,781,963 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $495,215,000 after acquiring an additional 1,964,421 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 8,425,933 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $456,012,000 after purchasing an additional 234,423 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Williams Companies by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,405,951 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $400,810,000 after buying an additional 166,741 shares during the period. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on WMB. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Truist Financial lifted 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, CIBC raised their target price on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. One research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $56.07.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Larry C. Larsen sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 81,265 shares in the company, valued at $4,627,229.10. This trade represents a 8.96 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Micheal G. Dunn sold 96,687 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.04, for a total transaction of $5,128,278.48. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 714,693 shares in the company, valued at $37,907,316.72. This trade 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.

Williams Companies Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE WMB traded down $0.31 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $60.78. 6,528,794 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,182,604. The company's 50-day moving average is $57.20 and its 200-day moving average is $54.17. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $74.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.21, a PEG ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.18 and a 52-week high of $61.55.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 15.85%. Analysts expect that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The company 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. This is a positive change from Williams Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 109.29%.

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.