Micheal G. Dunn Sells 96,687 Shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Stock

The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) COO Micheal G. Dunn sold 96,687 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 714,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,907,316.72. This represents a 11.92 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Williams Companies stock opened at $54.00 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.51, a PEG ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $35.88 and a 52-week high of $61.46. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $56.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.50.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share 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 issued a $0.50 dividend. This is a boost 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 3.70%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 109.29%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams Companies

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Capstone Triton Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth $249,000. Comprehensive Money Management Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth $952,000. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH lifted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 45.3% in the 4th quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 22,800 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,234,000 after purchasing an additional 7,113 shares in the last quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth $212,000. Finally, Menard Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMB has been the subject of several recent research reports. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. 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 research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays increased 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, CIBC increased 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $55.07.

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.