Investors Purchase High Volume of Williams Companies Put Options (NYSE:WMB)

The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Stock traders acquired 14,453 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 22% compared to the typical daily volume of 11,855 put options.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of WMB stock traded up $1.44 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $61.04. The company had a trading volume of 2,478,003 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,167,079. The stock has a market cap of $74.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.34, a PEG ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.50 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $57.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $54.05. Williams Companies has a 52-week low of $37.18 and a 52-week high of $61.54.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 15.85%. Research analysts anticipate that Williams Companies will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders 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 3.28%. This is a positive change from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is 109.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Micheal G. Dunn sold 96,687 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.04, for a total transaction of $5,128,278.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 714,693 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,907,316.72. The trade was a 11.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 value of $455,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 81,265 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,627,229.10. This represents a 8.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 139,583 shares of company stock worth $7,563,278. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams Companies

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $116,000. Prospera Financial Services Inc raised its position in Williams Companies by 7.2% in the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 13,714 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $626,000 after acquiring an additional 917 shares in the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its holdings in Williams Companies by 22.8% in the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 146,333 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $6,680,000 after acquiring an additional 27,186 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 47.0% during the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 52,845 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,412,000 after purchasing an additional 16,885 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meridian Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 3rd quarter worth $207,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMB has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays raised their target price on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. CIBC upped their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams Companies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $55.21.

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.