CKW Financial Group Trims Position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

CKW Financial Group trimmed its stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 12.5% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,100 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 300 shares during the period. CKW Financial Group’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $97,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WMB. Avestar Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Williams Companies by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 5,210 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $238,000 after buying an additional 306 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its holdings in Williams Companies by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 7,817 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $357,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Partners Group Holding AG increased its position in Williams Companies by 44.7% during the 3rd quarter. Partners Group Holding AG now owns 785,177 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $35,843,000 after purchasing an additional 242,670 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,650,492 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $120,995,000 after purchasing an additional 243,302 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 2.6% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,306,551 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $59,644,000 after purchasing an additional 32,922 shares in the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMB traded up $0.03 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $58.22. The stock had a trading volume of 1,395,369 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,277,739. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $45.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.14 and a beta of 1.03. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $32.65 and a 12-month high of $60.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 27.36% and a return on equity of 15.89%. Williams Companies’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.45 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.475 per share. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 80.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup upped their target price on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Williams Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on Williams Companies from $42.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.79.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In related news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.29, for a total value of $90,580.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 304,200 shares in the company, valued at $13,777,218. The trade was a 0.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.30, for a total value of $447,641.30. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 25,858 shares in the company, valued at $1,455,805.40. This represents a 23.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Company 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.