California State Teachers Retirement System Lowers Position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

California State Teachers Retirement System trimmed its position in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 9.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,192,633 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 225,354 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.18% of Williams Companies worth $118,665,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lido Advisors LLC boosted its position in Williams Companies by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 39,518 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,139,000 after purchasing an additional 2,126 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 15,236,940 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $824,623,000 after buying an additional 1,696,618 shares during the period. Bellwether Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $115,000. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC grew its stake in Williams Companies by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 164,278 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $8,891,000 after acquiring an additional 2,443 shares during the period. Finally, Whalerock Point Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $200,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Williams Companies stock opened at $59.70 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $57.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.29. The stock has a market cap of $72.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.87. 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 Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.69 and a 1-year high of $61.67.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMB has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. CIBC increased 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. Scotiabank raised their target price on Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.77.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In related news, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.46, for a total value of $1,467,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 133,048 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,511,890.08. This trade represents a 16.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Larry C. Larsen sold 8,000 shares of the company’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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 81,265 shares in the company, valued at $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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 139,583 shares of company stock worth $7,563,278. 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.