The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Shares Sold by Courier Capital LLC

Courier Capital LLC trimmed its stake in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 26.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,487 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 17,650 shares during the quarter. Courier Capital LLC's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $2,624,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the third quarter worth about $30,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 50.4% during the 3rd quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 752 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the period. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Williams Companies during the second quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Williams Companies in the third quarter valued at about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In related news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.30, for a total transaction of $447,641.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 25,858 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,455,805.40. This represents a 23.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:WMB traded up $0.49 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $56.01. The stock had a trading volume of 8,611,524 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,366,309. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $55.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $49.26. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $32.65 and a twelve month high of $60.36. The firm has a market cap of $68.28 billion, a PE ratio of 23.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.01. Williams Companies had a net margin of 27.36% and a return on equity of 15.89%. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.45 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were given a dividend of $0.475 per share. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is 80.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Scotiabank reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $51.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Friday. Citigroup raised their price objective on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $46.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $53.00.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.