The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Shares Sold by Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. cut its holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,110,109 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 15,946 shares during the quarter. Williams Companies comprises approximately 1.4% of Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $114,199,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMB. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $116,000. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. acquired a new position in Williams Companies during the third quarter valued at approximately $235,000. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Williams Companies by 24.3% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 175,699 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $8,021,000 after acquiring an additional 34,383 shares in the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance increased its stake in Williams Companies by 17.6% during the 3rd quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 14,094 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $643,000 after purchasing an additional 2,114 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in Williams Companies by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,306,551 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $59,644,000 after purchasing an additional 32,922 shares in the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Larry C. Larsen sold 8,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 8,896 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.50, for a total transaction of $511,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 22,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,284,492.50. The trade was a 28.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 139,583 shares of company stock valued at $7,563,278 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Trading Down 0.8 %

WMB opened at $59.48 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $57.30 and a 200-day moving average of $54.36. The stock has a market cap of $72.53 billion, a PE ratio of 32.50, a PEG ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.18 and a 52 week high of $61.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 21.17%. Equities research analysts predict that The Williams Companies, Inc. 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. Shareholders 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 yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 109.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. CIBC boosted 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. Scotiabank upped their target price on Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.07.

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.