The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Shares Sold by Atria Investments Inc

Atria Investments Inc decreased its holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 139,533 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 7,152 shares during the quarter. Atria Investments Inc’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $7,552,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMB. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:WMB opened at $54.64 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $56.69 and its 200-day moving average is $53.01. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $35.74 and a 52-week high of $61.46. 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 $66.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.86, a PEG ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last posted its earnings results 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid 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 yield of 3.66%. This is a boost from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is presently 109.29%.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In other news, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of the company’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 in the company, valued at approximately $7,511,890.08. This represents a 16.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 8,896 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were 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 owns 22,339 shares in the company, valued at $1,284,492.50. This represents a 28.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. CIBC lifted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $46.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $55.07.

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.