Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Sells 78,387 Shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lowered its stake in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 8.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 904,865 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 78,387 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $48,971,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Williams Companies during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 50.4% during the 3rd quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 752 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Williams Companies in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Williams Companies in the third quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its position in Williams Companies by 120.8% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 996 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 545 shares during the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Williams Companies Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE WMB opened at $59.58 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $56.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $50.12. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.65 and a 12 month high of $61.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.62 billion, a PE ratio of 25.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.31 and a beta of 1.06.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.52 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 27.36% and a return on equity of 15.89%. Williams Companies’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.45 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were given a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.19%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 80.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.30, for a total transaction of $447,641.30. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 25,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,455,805.40. The trade was a 23.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $55.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. UBS Group increased 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.00.

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.