Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC Has $144.16 Million Stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC reduced its position in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,663,715 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 43,243 shares during the period. Williams Companies comprises about 1.0% of Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $144,160,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new position in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new position in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Sandy Spring Bank bought a new position in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WMB opened at $58.77 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $58.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $56.82. The firm has a market cap of $71.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.11, a P/E/G ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.66. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $39.88 and a one year high of $61.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.50 and a quick ratio of 0.45.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.59 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.40%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 106.95%.

Insider Activity

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on WMB shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Scotiabank raised their target price 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. Citigroup upped their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective 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. Finally, CIBC upped 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. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams Companies 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.