The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Stake Lessened by Everstar Asset Management LLC

Everstar Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 17.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,418 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 1,182 shares during the period. Everstar Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $293,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Quent Capital LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new position in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Sandy Spring Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMB has been the topic of several research reports. CIBC increased their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Barclays raised their target price on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams Companies has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $56.07.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Larry C. Larsen sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.94, for a total value of $455,520.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 81,265 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,627,229.10. This represents a 8.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Micheal G. Dunn sold 96,687 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 139,583 shares of company stock valued at $7,563,278 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

WMB opened at $59.24 on Monday. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.18 and a 1-year high of $61.67. The company has a market capitalization of $72.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $57.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $54.60. 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) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 earnings per share 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%. Research analysts predict that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a $0.50 dividend. This is an increase from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is presently 109.29%.

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.