Aviva PLC Reduces Stock Holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Aviva PLC cut its holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 10.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,259,705 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 142,002 shares during the period. Aviva PLC owned about 0.10% of Williams Companies worth $68,175,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. IHT Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 24.4% in the third quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,701 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $811,000 after purchasing an additional 3,477 shares in the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its stake in Williams Companies by 36.3% in the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 195,037 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $8,903,000 after buying an additional 51,935 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its holdings in Williams Companies by 20.5% during the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 105,077 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $4,797,000 after buying an additional 17,875 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its position in Williams Companies by 38.9% during the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 365,154 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $15,693,000 after buying an additional 102,282 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 52.5% in the third quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,706 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $808,000 after acquiring an additional 6,099 shares during the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams Companies Stock Down 7.5 %

WMB opened at $54.61 on Friday. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.18 and a 1 year high of $61.67. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $57.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $55.02. 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 company has a market cap of $66.59 billion, a PE ratio of 29.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.87.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 earnings per share (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%. Sell-side analysts expect that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is currently 109.29%.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In other 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 133,048 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,511,890.08. The trade was a 16.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Larry C. Larsen sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 81,265 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,627,229.10. The trade was a 8.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 139,583 shares of company stock valued at $7,563,278 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on WMB. CIBC lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $56.07.

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.