The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Shares Sold by US Bancorp DE

US Bancorp DE cut its holdings in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 378,639 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 6,490 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $20,492,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quent Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new stake in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.46, for a total transaction of $1,467,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 133,048 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,511,890.08. The trade was a 16.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on WMB shares. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $46.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $54.21.

Williams Companies Stock Down 1.1 %

NYSE WMB traded down $0.66 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $57.52. 5,954,284 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,719,221. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $35.74 and a 52 week high of $61.46. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $56.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.79. The company has a market cap of $70.14 billion, a PE ratio of 31.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.50 and a quick ratio of 0.45.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last issued 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 return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 21.17%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Williams Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 109.29%.

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.