The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Shares Sold by OneAscent Financial Services LLC

OneAscent Financial Services LLC reduced its holdings in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 4.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 10,586 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 489 shares during the period. OneAscent Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $573,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMB. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Sandy Spring Bank acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In related news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 8,896 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.50, for a total transaction of $511,520.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 22,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,284,492.50. The trade was a 28.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.46, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 16.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 139,583 shares of company stock worth $7,563,278. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMB has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Williams Companies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.07.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Williams Companies stock opened at $61.64 on Thursday. 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 Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.18 and a 12 month high of $61.67. The company has a market cap of $75.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $57.36 and its 200-day moving average is $54.86.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.47. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 15.85%. Equities analysts anticipate that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.24%. This is a boost from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 109.29%.

Williams Companies 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.