Victory Capital Management Inc. Has $62.06 Million Position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Victory Capital Management Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,146,645 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 47,002 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 0.09% of Williams Companies worth $62,056,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WMB. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Williams Companies by 57.1% during the 3rd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 28,549 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,303,000 after acquiring an additional 10,374 shares during the period. Blake Schutter Theil Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $299,000. Graypoint LLC grew its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 14,497 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $662,000 after buying an additional 924 shares during the period. Advisor Resource Council acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $320,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,576,165 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $71,952,000 after buying an additional 35,981 shares during the period. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Williams Companies stock opened at $54.37 on Friday. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $35.78 and a 52 week high of $61.46. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $56.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.08. 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 stock has a market cap of $66.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.71, a P/E/G ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.47. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 15.85%. 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 business also recently declared 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 represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.68%. 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 payout ratio is 109.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.46, for a total transaction of $1,467,960.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 133,048 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,511,890.08. The trade was a 16.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 8,896 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.50, for a total transaction of $511,520.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 22,339 shares in the company, valued at $1,284,492.50. The trade was a 28.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on WMB shares. CIBC raised their target price on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup raised their target price on Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. UBS Group raised their target price on Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus 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.