The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Shares Sold by Townsquare Capital LLC

Townsquare Capital LLC lessened its holdings in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 32.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 191,979 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 94,191 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $10,390,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WMB. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 1,016,418 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $54,997,000 after acquiring an additional 24,419 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its position in Williams Companies by 113.1% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 99,703 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $5,396,000 after purchasing an additional 52,906 shares during the last quarter. Clean Energy Transition LLP acquired a new position in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,102,000. Heritage Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth $532,000. Finally, First Foundation Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. First Foundation Advisors now owns 9,882 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $535,000 after buying an additional 284 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company's stock.

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Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of WMB traded up $1.16 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $58.52. 5,439,297 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,644,896. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $57.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.50. The company has a market cap of $71.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.87. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.18 and a 12-month high of $61.67.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last released 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%. Research analysts expect 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 was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This is a boost from Williams Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.42%. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is 109.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 8,896 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 22,339 shares in the company, valued at $1,284,492.50. This trade represents a 28.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Micheal G. Dunn sold 96,687 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 714,693 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,907,316.72. This represents a 11.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 139,583 shares of company stock worth $7,563,278. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on WMB shares. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. One equities 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $56.07.

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.