Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Sells 17,044 Shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. lowered its stake in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 0.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,062,503 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 17,044 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $119,346,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WMB. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Fairman Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, CGC Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Debbie L. Pickle sold 38,200 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.61, for a total value of $1,513,102.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 60,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,392,840.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.44% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on WMB shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised Williams Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $38.00 to $46.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. US Capital Advisors downgraded shares of Williams Companies from an “overweight” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Wolfe Research reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $34.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Williams Companies from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $41.42.

Williams Companies Stock Up 1.2 %

NYSE WMB opened at $42.80 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.20 and a 12 month high of $43.22. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $40.75 and its 200 day moving average is $37.70. The stock has a market cap of $52.16 billion, a PE ratio of 17.98, a P/E/G ratio of 6.63 and a beta of 1.05.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.69 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 27.29% and a return on equity of 16.27%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.56 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 24th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th were given a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.44%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 79.83%.

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.