First Financial Bankshares Inc Sells 13,012 Shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

First Financial Bankshares Inc trimmed its position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 0.8% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,579,403 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 13,012 shares during the quarter. Williams Companies makes up about 1.5% of First Financial Bankshares Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. First Financial Bankshares Inc’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $72,100,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SouthState Corp bought a new position in Williams Companies during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Williams Companies during the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in Williams Companies during the second quarter worth about $35,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new position in Williams Companies in the second quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the first quarter worth about $50,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams Companies Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of Williams Companies stock opened at $52.50 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $63.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.53, a P/E/G ratio of 5.88 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $32.65 and a 12-month high of $52.85. The business’s 50 day moving average is $47.17 and its 200-day moving average is $43.36.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.05. Williams Companies had a net margin of 27.11% and a return on equity of 16.17%. The firm had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.42 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were given a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.62%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In related news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.29, for a total transaction of $90,580.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 304,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,777,218. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Seaport Res Ptn cut Williams Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Scotiabank lifted their price target 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. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Williams Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $52.00 to $58.00 in a report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $48.62.

About Williams Companies

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.