The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) is Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc.'s 6th Largest Position

Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc. lowered its stake in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 18.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 365,350 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 80,000 shares during the quarter. Williams Companies accounts for 3.1% of Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc.'s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $19,773,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Sandy Spring Bank purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new stake in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on WMB. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Scotiabank raised their target price on Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, CIBC increased their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams Companies currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $56.07.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Micheal G. Dunn sold 96,687 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 714,693 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $37,907,316.72. This represents a 11.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.46, for a total transaction of $1,467,960.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 133,048 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,511,890.08. This represents a 16.35 % decrease in their position. 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 Stock Performance

Shares of WMB traded down $0.99 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $59.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,935,958 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,193,244. The company has a market cap of $73.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.75, a PEG ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $57.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.29. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.18 and a 52-week high of $61.67.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting 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 analysts expect that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a boost from Williams Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.34%. 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.