Sei Investments Co. Trims Stock Position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Sei Investments Co. decreased its position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,103,660 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 29,025 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $59,730,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $720,000. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Williams Companies by 13.8% during the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 162,799 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $8,811,000 after purchasing an additional 19,782 shares during the period. Golden State Equity Partners boosted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 319.9% in the fourth quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 12,038 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $651,000 after purchasing an additional 9,171 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 81.4% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 185,920 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $10,062,000 after purchasing an additional 83,429 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Myriad Asset Management US LP purchased a new stake in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $995,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Williams Companies stock opened at $59.60 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $57.09 and a 200-day moving average of $54.05. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.18 and a 52-week high of $61.46. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $72.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.57, a PEG ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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%. As a group, analysts predict that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 109.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. CIBC increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Citigroup raised their price objective on Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $55.21.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.46, for a total transaction of $1,467,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 133,048 shares in the company, valued at $7,511,890.08. This trade represents a 16.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Larry C. Larsen sold 8,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.94, for a total value 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 139,583 shares of company stock valued at $7,563,278 over the last 90 days. 0.44% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Williams Companies 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.