The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) SVP Sells $455,520.00 in Stock

The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) SVP Larry C. Larsen sold 8,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.94, for a total value of $455,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly 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 available through this hyperlink.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WMB traded down $0.23 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $56.08. The stock had a trading volume of 7,835,773 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,856,526. The firm has a market cap of $68.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.64, a PEG ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $36.56 and a fifty-two week high of $61.46. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $56.76 and a 200-day moving average of $53.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67.

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, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.47. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 15.85%. Equities research analysts predict that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued 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 dividend yield of 3.57%. This is a positive change from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is presently 109.29%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams Companies

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of WMB. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new position in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Menard Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Sandy Spring Bank acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. CIBC raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $46.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.