Insider Selling: The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) COO Sells 96,687 Shares of Stock

The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) COO Micheal G. Dunn sold 96,687 shares of Williams Companies 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 714,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,907,316.72. This represents a 11.92 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Williams Companies Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE WMB traded down $0.38 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $54.00. 7,913,757 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,914,291. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $56.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The company has a market cap of $65.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.51, a P/E/G ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $35.88 and a one year high of $61.46.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting 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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The company 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 $0.50 dividend. This is a boost from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 109.29%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Menard Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Sandy Spring Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMB has been the subject of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. CIBC raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $55.07.

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.