The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) SVP Sells $455,520.00 in Stock

The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) SVP Larry C. Larsen sold 8,000 shares of the 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 81,265 shares in the company, valued at $4,627,229.10. This represents a 8.96 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WMB opened at $57.33 on Friday. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $36.84 and a twelve month high of $61.46. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $56.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $53.51. The company has a market capitalization of $69.91 billion, a PE ratio of 31.33, a P/E/G ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last announced its earnings results 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 net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 15.85%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 109.29%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams Companies

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Anchor Pointe Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth $222,000. Capstone Triton Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $249,000. Comprehensive Money Management Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $952,000. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH raised its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 45.3% during the fourth quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 22,800 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,234,000 after purchasing an additional 7,113 shares during the period. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $212,000. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on WMB shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. CIBC raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $46.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock 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.