Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC Sells 976 Shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC lessened its position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 21,367 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 976 shares during the period. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $1,156,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quent Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Sandy Spring Bank bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In other news, COO Micheal G. Dunn sold 96,687 shares of the 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 714,693 shares in the company, valued at $37,907,316.72. This represents a 11.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Larry C. Larsen sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.94, for a total transaction of $455,520.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 81,265 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,627,229.10. This trade represents a 8.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 139,583 shares of company stock worth $7,563,278 over the last three months. 0.44% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Williams Companies Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of NYSE WMB opened at $58.09 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.50. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $39.64 and a 52-week high of $61.67. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $57.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $56.77. The stock has a market cap of $70.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.66.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.05. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 15.85%. The firm had revenue of $3.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.59 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 106.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on WMB shares. Barclays lifted 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, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. CIBC upped their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.50.

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.