Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB Stake Boosted by Westwood Holdings Group Inc.

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its position in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) by 1.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,110,206 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 40,504 shares during the period. Williams Companies comprises 2.3% of Westwood Holdings Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $258,162,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WMB. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 40.9% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 13,680 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $740,000 after acquiring an additional 3,969 shares during the period. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the first quarter valued at approximately $241,000. Welch & Forbes LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the first quarter worth $431,000. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Williams Companies by 11.1% during the first quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,747 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $284,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bailard Inc. bought a new stake in Williams Companies in the 1st quarter valued at $432,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of WMB stock opened at $60.93 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $60.67 and its 200 day moving average is $59.45. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $51.58 and a 1-year high of $65.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The company has a market cap of $74.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.62, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.63.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The pipeline company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.02). Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 16.23%. The firm had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.43 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Williams Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.010-2.190 EPS. Research analysts predict that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is currently 103.09%.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In other news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.53, for a total transaction of $242,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 302,645 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,319,101.85. This represents a 1.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. TD Cowen increased their price target on Williams Companies from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Citigroup increased their target price on Williams Companies from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Zacks Research lowered Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.21.

Williams Companies 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.