Erste Asset Management GmbH Sells 85,038 Shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Erste Asset Management GmbH cut its holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 58.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 60,000 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 85,038 shares during the quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $3,237,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft grew its position in shares of Williams Companies by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 5,568 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $300,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. Albion Financial Group UT grew its position in shares of Williams Companies by 18.4% in the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 1,184 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the period. Sprinkle Financial Consultants LLC grew its position in shares of Williams Companies by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Sprinkle Financial Consultants LLC now owns 5,073 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $275,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the period. AMG National Trust Bank grew its position in shares of Williams Companies by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 30,813 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,669,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the period. Finally, Tower Wealth Partners Inc. grew its position in shares of Williams Companies by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 4,591 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $248,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the period. 86.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Larry C. Larsen sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.94, for a total transaction of $455,520.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 81,265 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,627,229.10. This trade represents a 8.96 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 8,896 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $511,520.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 22,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,284,492.50. The trade was a 28.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 139,583 shares of company stock worth $7,563,278 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on WMB shares. CIBC upped their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays increased their price objective 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, Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $55.07.

Williams Companies Price Performance

WMB opened at $57.33 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $56.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $53.46. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $36.69 and a 52-week high of $61.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.33, a P/E/G ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 earnings per share 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%. As a group, analysts predict that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date 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 109.29%.

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.