The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Shares Sold by Argent Advisors Inc.

Argent Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 36,701 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 711 shares during the period. Argent Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $1,986,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WMB. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on WMB shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays upped their price objective on Williams Companies from $46.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. CIBC upped their price objective on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $55.07.

Williams Companies Stock Up 2.0 %

Williams Companies stock opened at $58.42 on Tuesday. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $36.84 and a twelve month high of $61.46. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $56.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.66. 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 capitalization of $71.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.92, a P/E/G ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03.

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

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.42%. This is a positive change from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 109.29%.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In other news, COO Micheal G. Dunn sold 96,687 shares of the company’s 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 approximately $37,907,316.72. This represents a 11.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of the 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 directly owns 133,048 shares in the company, 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 139,583 shares of company stock valued at $7,563,278. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.