Vanguard Group Inc. Acquires 1,912,156 Shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) by 1.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 133,075,340 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after buying an additional 1,912,156 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 10.91% of Williams Companies worth $8,358,462,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WMB. Diversified Trust Co lifted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 28.5% during the 2nd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 46,549 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,924,000 after buying an additional 10,317 shares during the period. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC grew its position in Williams Companies by 362.5% in the first quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 1,465,991 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $87,608,000 after acquiring an additional 1,149,045 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC raised its stake in Williams Companies by 153.4% during the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 831 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 503 shares in the last quarter. Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc. raised its stake in Williams Companies by 1,238.3% during the second quarter. Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc. now owns 365,350 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $22,948,000 after acquiring an additional 338,050 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the first quarter valued at $2,728,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams Companies Stock Down 1.2%

NYSE:WMB opened at $59.17 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $72.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.54. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $60.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.45. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $51.58 and a 52-week high of $65.55.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The pipeline company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($0.02). Williams Companies had a return on equity of 16.23% and a net margin of 21.63%.The firm had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.43 EPS. The company’s 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. On average, analysts anticipate that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 103.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Williams Companies from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Mizuho raised Williams Companies to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Argus restated a “buy” rating and set a $66.00 target price on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.21.

Insider Activity

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

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.