Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC Reduces Holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC decreased its position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 341,632 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 6,624 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $11,626,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Patten Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Patten Group Inc. now owns 23,899 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $832,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the period. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,476 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $353,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares during the period. Graypoint LLC boosted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 12,263 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $427,000 after purchasing an additional 307 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 20.8% during the 3rd quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 1,803 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the period. Finally, Integrated Advisors Network LLC boosted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 8,553 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $288,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:WMB opened at $41.17 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The firm has a market cap of $50.18 billion, a PE ratio of 17.30, a P/E/G ratio of 6.46 and a beta of 1.05. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $30.22 and a 1-year high of $41.89.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.69 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 27.29% and a return on equity of 16.27%. Williams Companies’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.56 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.62%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 79.83%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on WMB shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Williams Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $38.00 to $46.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Wolfe Research reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $34.00 target price on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $41.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Debbie L. Pickle sold 38,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.61, for a total value of $1,513,102.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 60,410 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,392,840.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

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.