Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Sells 49,964 Shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lowered its position in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 13.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 326,159 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 49,964 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $14,889,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WMB. SouthState Corp acquired a new position in Williams Companies during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the second quarter valued at $34,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its holdings in Williams Companies by 50.4% in the third quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 752 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the second quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new stake in Williams Companies during the 2nd quarter worth about $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Williams Companies stock traded down $0.02 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $55.58. 5,980,338 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,246,852. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.57. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $49.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $44.74. The company has a market cap of $67.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.59, a PEG ratio of 5.56 and a beta of 1.03. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $32.65 and a 52-week high of $57.33.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.45 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.42%. Williams Companies's payout ratio is 80.17%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.29, for a total value of $90,580.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 304,200 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,777,218. This trade represents a 0.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.30, for a total value of $447,641.30. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,858 shares in the company, valued at $1,455,805.40. This trade represents a 23.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.44% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $42.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Seaport Res Ptn cut Williams Companies from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Bank of America started coverage on Williams Companies in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Williams Companies from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $50.38.

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.