Clearbridge Investments LLC Sells 3,391,483 Shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Clearbridge Investments LLC lessened its position in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 17.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 15,890,879 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 3,391,483 shares during the period. Williams Companies accounts for approximately 0.7% of Clearbridge Investments LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $860,014,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies during the third quarter worth approximately $116,000. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,650,492 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $120,995,000 after purchasing an additional 243,302 shares in the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in Williams Companies by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 175,294 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $8,002,000 after purchasing an additional 1,012 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC boosted its position in Williams Companies by 103.1% in the third quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 24,915 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,137,000 after buying an additional 12,647 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 551,136 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $25,159,000 after acquiring an additional 37,379 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of Williams Companies stock opened at $59.24 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $72.24 billion, a PE ratio of 32.37, a PEG ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $57.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.53. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.18 and a 1 year high of $61.67.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 15.85%. Analysts expect that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 109.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMB has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. CIBC upped their target price on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Citigroup increased their price target on Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $56.07.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Larry C. Larsen sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.94, for a total value of $455,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 81,265 shares in the company, valued at $4,627,229.10. The trade was a 8.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $1,467,960.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 133,048 shares in the company, valued at $7,511,890.08. This represents a 16.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 139,583 shares of company stock worth $7,563,278. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

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.