Private Trust Co. NA Sells 783 Shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Private Trust Co. NA reduced its position in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 12,830 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 783 shares during the quarter. Private Trust Co. NA’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $586,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WMB. Dearborn Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Williams Companies by 1.1% in the third quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC now owns 18,111 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $827,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. L & S Advisors Inc grew its holdings in Williams Companies by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. L & S Advisors Inc now owns 78,548 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $3,586,000 after buying an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC increased its position in Williams Companies by 18.7% in the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,578 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 249 shares during the period. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 50.4% during the third quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 752 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 2.8% in the second quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 9,298 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $395,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the period. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams Companies Price Performance

NYSE WMB opened at $58.36 on Wednesday. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $32.65 and a 12-month high of $60.36. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $51.86 and its 200-day moving average is $46.00. The company has a market capitalization of $71.14 billion, a PE ratio of 24.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.99 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.52 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 27.36% and a return on equity of 15.89%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.45 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.475 per share. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 80.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMB has been the topic of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Williams Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. One research 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 data from MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.79.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.29, for a total transaction of $90,580.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 304,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,777,218. This represents a 0.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.30, for a total transaction of $447,641.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,455,805.40. This trade represents a 23.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

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.