Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Lowers Stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,213,244 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 61,072 shares during the period. Williams Companies makes up approximately 1.7% of Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. owned approximately 0.26% of Williams Companies worth $173,901,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 5,568 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $300,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Albion Financial Group UT lifted its position in Williams Companies by 18.4% in the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 1,184 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Sprinkle Financial Consultants LLC boosted its stake in Williams Companies by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Sprinkle Financial Consultants LLC now owns 5,073 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $275,000 after buying an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. AMG National Trust Bank grew its position in Williams Companies by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 30,813 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,669,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Wealth Partners Inc. raised its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 4,591 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $248,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Williams Companies Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE:WMB traded down $0.23 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $56.08. The company had a trading volume of 7,911,715 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,903,958. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.50 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $56.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.35. The company has a market capitalization of $68.38 billion, a PE ratio of 30.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $36.56 and a 52 week high of $61.46.

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 the consensus estimate 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 predict that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from Williams Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.57%. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is 109.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WMB. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" 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 given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $55.07.

Insider Activity

In other Williams Companies news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 8,896 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.50, for a total transaction of $511,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 22,339 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,284,492.50. This trade represents a 28.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Larry C. Larsen sold 8,000 shares of the company'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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 81,265 shares in the company, valued at $4,627,229.10. This represents a 8.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 139,583 shares of company stock worth $7,563,278 in the last quarter. 0.44% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.