Securian Asset Management Inc. Sells 1,900 Shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Securian Asset Management Inc. trimmed its stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 65,516 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 1,900 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $3,546,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new stake in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth $720,000. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 13.8% in the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 162,799 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $8,811,000 after acquiring an additional 19,782 shares during the period. Golden State Equity Partners lifted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 319.9% in the 4th quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 12,038 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $651,000 after acquiring an additional 9,171 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 81.4% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 185,920 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $10,062,000 after acquiring an additional 83,429 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Myriad Asset Management US LP purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $995,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Williams Companies from $46.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Scotiabank increased their target price on Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. CIBC lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $55.07.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of WMB stock opened at $56.41 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $68.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.82, a PEG ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $36.56 and a 52-week high of $61.46. 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 company’s 50 day moving average is $56.76 and its 200 day moving average is $53.35.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.47. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 21.17%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 109.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Williams Companies news, COO Micheal G. Dunn sold 96,687 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.04, for a total value of $5,128,278.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 714,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,907,316.72. This trade represents a 11.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 8,896 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.50, for a total transaction of $511,520.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 22,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,284,492.50. This trade represents a 28.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 131,583 shares of company stock worth $7,107,758 in the last ninety days. 0.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.