Herbst Group LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Herbst Group LLC lessened its position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 15.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 38,500 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 7,000 shares during the quarter. Herbst Group LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $2,084,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its stake in Williams Companies by 50.4% during the third quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 752 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the period. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Williams Companies in the second quarter valued at about $35,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new position in Williams Companies during the 2nd quarter worth about $42,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WMB. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $51.00 price objective on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, CIBC upped their price objective on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.30, for a total value of $447,641.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 25,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,455,805.40. The trade was a 23.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of WMB stock opened at $59.22 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $56.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.57. The stock has a market cap of $72.19 billion, a PE ratio of 24.99, a P/E/G ratio of 5.36 and a beta of 1.06. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $32.65 and a 1 year high of $60.36.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.01. Williams Companies had a net margin of 27.36% and a return on equity of 15.89%. The business had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.45 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.21%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 80.17%.

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.