Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Lowers Stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 12.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 4,188,552 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 586,024 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $226,684,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WMB. Sit Investment Associates Inc. boosted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Sit Investment Associates Inc. now owns 276,110 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $14,943,000 after acquiring an additional 7,670 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $1,636,000. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $22,014,000. Pioneer Trust Bank N A OR acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth $276,000. Finally, Prudential PLC raised its position in shares of Williams Companies by 28.4% in the 4th quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 306,133 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $16,568,000 after buying an additional 67,803 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, COO Micheal G. Dunn sold 96,687 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were 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 directly owns 714,693 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,907,316.72. The trade was a 11.92 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Larry C. Larsen sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.94, for a total transaction of $455,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 81,265 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,627,229.10. This represents a 8.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 139,583 shares of company stock worth $7,563,278. 0.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays raised their price objective on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. CIBC increased their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup increased their target price on Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.07.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of WMB opened at $54.61 on Monday. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.18 and a 52 week high of $61.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The firm has a market cap of $66.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.84, a PEG ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.87. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $57.25 and a 200-day moving average of $55.09.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 15.85%. As a group, analysts forecast that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio 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.