The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Shares Sold by First Bank & Trust

First Bank & Trust trimmed its holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 17.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 82,077 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 17,544 shares during the period. Williams Companies accounts for about 0.9% of First Bank & Trust's holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. First Bank & Trust's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $4,442,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $720,000. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 13.8% during the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 162,799 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $8,811,000 after acquiring an additional 19,782 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 81.4% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 185,920 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $10,062,000 after purchasing an additional 83,429 shares during the period. Golden State Equity Partners increased its position in Williams Companies by 319.9% during the fourth quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 12,038 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $651,000 after purchasing an additional 9,171 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Myriad Asset Management US LP purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $995,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on WMB shares. Scotiabank reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $51.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Mizuho increased their price target on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. One equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $53.29.

Williams Companies Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of Williams Companies stock traded down $1.02 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $57.44. 11,081,263 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,709,167. The firm has a market cap of $70.01 billion, a PE ratio of 31.39, a PEG ratio of 5.00 and a beta of 1.04. The stock's fifty day moving average is $56.09 and its 200 day moving average is $52.07. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $34.26 and a 1 year high of $61.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.50.

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

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.48%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Williams Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is 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.