PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Trims Holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lessened its stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 298,800 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 7,577 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.'s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $16,171,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Machina Capital S.A.S. acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $576,000. AMG National Trust Bank raised its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 30,813 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,669,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 51.7% in the fourth quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 11,622 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $629,000 after purchasing an additional 3,961 shares in the last quarter. Callan Family Office LLC acquired a new position in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth $2,048,000. Finally, EagleClaw Capital Managment LLC increased its stake in Williams Companies by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. EagleClaw Capital Managment LLC now owns 68,190 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $3,690,000 after buying an additional 2,400 shares during the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insider Activity

In other Williams Companies news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 8,896 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.50, for a total value of $511,520.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 22,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,284,492.50. This represents a 28.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Micheal G. Dunn sold 96,687 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.04, for a total value of $5,128,278.48. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 714,693 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,907,316.72. The trade was a 11.92 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 131,583 shares of company stock valued at $7,107,758. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Williams Companies stock traded down $0.36 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $55.94. The company had a trading volume of 817,820 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,754,027. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $56.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $53.35. The company has a market cap of $68.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.56, a P/E/G ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $36.56 and a fifty-two 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 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates 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 earnings per share for the current 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 $0.50 dividend. 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 3.58%. This is an increase from Williams Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Williams Companies's payout ratio is 109.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. CIBC increased their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays increased their price target on Williams Companies from $46.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Citigroup raised their target price 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $55.07.

Williams Companies 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.