Wilkinson Global Asset Management LLC Sells 1,650 Shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Wilkinson Global Asset Management LLC cut its stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 23.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 5,350 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 1,650 shares during the period. Wilkinson Global Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $290,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Creative Planning raised its position in Williams Companies by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 199,046 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $9,086,000 after purchasing an additional 17,983 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 13,159 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $559,000 after buying an additional 830 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Williams Companies by 132.3% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 146,247 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $6,676,000 after acquiring an additional 83,300 shares during the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the third quarter valued at $52,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. boosted its holdings in Williams Companies by 3.5% in the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 8,061 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $368,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Barclays increased 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. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, CIBC upped their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the company 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.29.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

WMB stock opened at $57.78 on Wednesday. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $33.85 and a 1-year high of $61.46. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $55.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $51.98. The firm has a market cap of $70.44 billion, a PE ratio of 31.57, a P/E/G ratio of 5.07 and a beta of 1.04. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.47. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 21.17%. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.46%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 103.83%.

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.