The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Stock Position Lessened by Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc.

Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 18.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 365,350 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 80,000 shares during the period. Williams Companies makes up 3.1% of Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc.’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $19,773,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quent Capital LLC bought a new stake in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Sandy Spring Bank bought a new position in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. CIBC upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $55.21.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WMB opened at $59.60 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $72.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.57, a P/E/G ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.18 and a twelve month high of $61.46. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $57.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $53.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued 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, research analysts forecast that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.36%. 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 Transactions at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.46, for a total value of $1,467,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 133,048 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,511,890.08. This represents a 16.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Micheal G. Dunn sold 96,687 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 714,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,907,316.72. This trade represents a 11.92 % 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 over the last quarter. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.