The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Shares Sold by Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. decreased its position in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,213,244 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 61,072 shares during the quarter. Williams Companies makes up about 1.7% of Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest position. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $173,901,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Williams Companies by 19.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,734,666 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,631,288,000 after buying an additional 5,697,605 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Williams Companies by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 30,722,702 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,398,004,000 after purchasing an additional 520,663 shares during the last quarter. Amundi boosted its stake in Williams Companies by 28.8% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 8,781,963 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $495,215,000 after purchasing an additional 1,964,421 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. grew its position in Williams Companies by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 8,425,933 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $456,012,000 after purchasing an additional 234,423 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Williams Companies by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,405,951 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $400,810,000 after purchasing an additional 166,741 shares during the period. 86.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams Companies Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of Williams Companies stock opened at $54.37 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $56.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $53.20. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $35.78 and a 12-month high of $61.46. 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 stock has a market cap of $66.30 billion, a PE ratio of 29.71, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.68%. This is a boost from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 109.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In related news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 8,896 shares of the company’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 value of $511,520.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 22,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,284,492.50. This represents a 28.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 133,048 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,511,890.08. The trade was a 16.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WMB. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Barclays upped their price target on Williams Companies from $46.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. CIBC lifted their price objective 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. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.