The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) COO Sells $5,128,278.48 in Stock

The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) COO Micheal G. Dunn sold 96,687 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.04, for a total transaction of $5,128,278.48. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 714,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,907,316.72. The trade was a 11.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Williams Companies Price Performance

NYSE:WMB traded down $0.38 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $54.00. 7,913,757 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,914,291. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $56.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $53.20. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $35.88 and a 52-week high of $61.46. The company has a market cap of $65.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.51, a P/E/G ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03. 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 results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, hitting 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, equities research analysts anticipate that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This is an increase from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.70%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 109.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMB has been the topic of several research 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 report on Friday, January 10th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective 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 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $55.07.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted its stake in Williams Companies by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 5,568 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $300,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,889 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $968,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. Albion Financial Group UT grew its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 18.4% in the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 1,184 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. Sprinkle Financial Consultants LLC raised its stake in Williams Companies by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Sprinkle Financial Consultants LLC now owns 5,073 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $275,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. Finally, AMG National Trust Bank boosted its holdings in Williams Companies by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 30,813 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,669,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.