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

First Bank & Trust cut its holdings in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 17.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 82,077 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 17,544 shares during the period. Williams Companies comprises about 0.9% of First Bank & Trust’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. First Bank & Trust’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $4,442,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $720,000. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 13.8% during the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 162,799 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $8,811,000 after purchasing an additional 19,782 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Equity Partners lifted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 319.9% during the fourth quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 12,038 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $651,000 after purchasing an additional 9,171 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 81.4% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 185,920 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $10,062,000 after purchasing an additional 83,429 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Myriad Asset Management US LP bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $995,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

WMB opened at $58.25 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $56.02 and its 200-day moving average is $52.03. The stock has a market cap of $71.01 billion, a PE ratio of 31.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.10 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. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $33.85 and a twelve month high of $61.46.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 21.17%. On average, analysts predict that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is 103.83%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMB has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $46.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised 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. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.29.

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.