The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Shares Sold by Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. cut its stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 13.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 75,590 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 11,363 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $4,091,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WMB. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Williams Companies by 19.0% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,734,666 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,631,288,000 after purchasing an additional 5,697,605 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 28.8% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 8,781,963 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $495,215,000 after buying an additional 1,964,421 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 3,490.2% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,600,239 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $86,605,000 after buying an additional 1,555,667 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its position in shares of Williams Companies by 224.1% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,334,307 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $60,909,000 after buying an additional 922,550 shares during the period. Finally, Castle Hook Partners LP lifted its holdings in Williams Companies by 31.7% in the third quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 2,989,278 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $136,461,000 after acquiring an additional 718,915 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In other news, COO Micheal G. Dunn sold 96,687 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 714,693 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,907,316.72. This represents a 11.92 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.46, for a total value of $1,467,960.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 133,048 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,511,890.08. The trade was a 16.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 139,583 shares of company stock worth $7,563,278 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Price Performance

WMB stock opened at $58.38 on Wednesday. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.16 and a 1 year high of $61.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.90, a P/E/G ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.50 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The business’s 50-day moving average is $56.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.75.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 15.85%. Analysts anticipate that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share 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 represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 109.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMB has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $46.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. CIBC lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $55.07.

Williams Companies 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.