The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Shares Sold by Central Bank & Trust Co.

Central Bank & Trust Co. cut its holdings in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 7.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 101,598 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 8,415 shares during the quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $5,498,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WMB. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its stake in Williams Companies by 2.6% during the third quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 7,817 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $357,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,178 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $118,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC now owns 18,111 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $827,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 41,514 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,895,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Family Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Family Advisors LLC now owns 6,510 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $297,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of WMB stock opened at $59.22 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $72.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.99, a PEG ratio of 5.30 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $32.65 and a fifty-two week high of $60.36. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $56.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.81.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.52 billion. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.89% and a net margin of 27.36%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.45 earnings per share. Analysts predict that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Williams Companies news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.30, for a total value of $447,641.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 25,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,455,805.40. The trade was a 23.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on WMB. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. CIBC upped their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.00.

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.