The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) SVP Chad A. Teply Sells 26,000 Shares

The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.46, for a total value of $1,467,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 133,048 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,511,890.08. The trade was a 16.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Williams Companies Trading Up 3.3 %

Shares of NYSE WMB traded up $1.84 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $58.10. The stock had a trading volume of 4,270,236 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,631,325. The firm has a market cap of $70.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.77, a P/E/G ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.05. 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 52-week low of $35.38 and a 52-week high of $61.46. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $56.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $52.56.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.47. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 21.17%. Analysts expect that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS 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 given a $0.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 109.29%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams Companies

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $575,103,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Williams Companies by 19.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,734,666 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,631,288,000 after purchasing an additional 5,697,605 shares during the period. Blackstone Inc. lifted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 36.5% during the 4th quarter. Blackstone Inc. now owns 18,954,088 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,025,795,000 after buying an additional 5,068,738 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in shares of Williams Companies by 2,303.2% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,517,336 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $190,358,000 after purchasing an additional 3,370,974 shares during the period. Finally, Castle Hook Partners LP increased its stake in Williams Companies by 69.1% during the 4th quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 5,055,184 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $273,587,000 after buying an additional 2,065,906 shares in the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on WMB shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays boosted their price target on Williams Companies from $46.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup boosted 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. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $54.21.

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.