Avantax Planning Partners Inc. Sells 1,926 Shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Avantax Planning Partners Inc. decreased its holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 21.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 6,939 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 1,926 shares during the quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc.’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $376,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WMB. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new stake in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Williams Companies during the third quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMB has been the subject of a number of research reports. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group upped their price target on Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Scotiabank upped their price target on Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. CIBC upped their price target on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $55.07.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Micheal G. Dunn sold 96,687 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 714,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,907,316.72. This trade represents a 11.92 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.46, for a total value of $1,467,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 133,048 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,511,890.08. The trade was a 16.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 131,583 shares of company stock valued at $7,107,758 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

NYSE WMB opened at $56.41 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $68.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03. 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $56.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $53.35. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $36.56 and a twelve month high of $61.46.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 EPS 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.55%. This is a positive change from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 109.29%.

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.