Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB Shares Sold by Energy Income Partners LLC

Energy Income Partners LLC lowered its stake in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) by 3.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,020,259 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 68,088 shares during the quarter. Williams Companies comprises 2.5% of Energy Income Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Energy Income Partners LLC owned approximately 0.17% of Williams Companies worth $126,892,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WMB. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Williams Companies by 40.9% in the 4th 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. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Williams Companies during the first quarter valued at about $274,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the first quarter valued at about $33,362,000. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 14.4% in the first quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 345,548 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $20,650,000 after purchasing an additional 43,618 shares during the period. Finally, Providence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 50,005 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,988,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of WMB stock opened at $59.77 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $72.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $51.58 and a 12-month high of $65.55. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $60.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $59.72.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 20.61% and a return on equity of 16.74%. The business had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.43 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. Williams Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.010-2.190 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Williams Companies from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Barclays raised 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. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Tudor Pickering raised shares of Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Monday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.21.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In related news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 4,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.53, for a total value of $242,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 302,645 shares in the company, valued at $18,319,101.85. This trade represents a 1.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.