Lindbrook Capital LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Lindbrook Capital LLC trimmed its position in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 9.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 45,166 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 4,652 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $2,444,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WMB. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 37.5% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 493,347 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $22,521,000 after buying an additional 134,603 shares during the last quarter. Fractal Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 12.6% during the third quarter. Fractal Investments LLC now owns 416,500 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $19,013,000 after buying an additional 46,500 shares during the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 3.1% during the third quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 17,395 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $794,000 after buying an additional 527 shares during the last quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 12.0% during the third quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 8,441 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $385,000 after buying an additional 906 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 0.6% during the third quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. now owns 124,801 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $5,697,000 after buying an additional 708 shares during the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WMB opened at $56.31 on Thursday. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $35.74 and a 12 month high of $61.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.77, a PEG ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.50 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $56.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.00.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 earnings per share (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%. Analysts expect that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a positive change 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 dividend yield of 3.55%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 109.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMB has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $51.00 price objective on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. CIBC increased their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $54.93.

Insider Activity

In other Williams Companies news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 8,896 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.50, for a total value of $511,520.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 22,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,284,492.50. This trade represents a 28.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 133,048 shares in the company, valued at $7,511,890.08. The trade was a 16.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

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.