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 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 value of $5,128,278.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 714,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,907,316.72. This trade represents a 11.92 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of WMB opened at $56.41 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $56.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $53.35. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $36.56 and a 52 week high of $61.46. The stock has a market cap of $68.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.82, a P/E/G ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03.

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

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. 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 dividend yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 109.29%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams Companies

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WMB. Quent Capital LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new position in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Menard Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Sandy Spring Bank bought a new position in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup boosted their price target on Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. CIBC boosted their price target on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams Companies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $55.07.

Williams Companies Company 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.