Korea Investment CORP Sells 22,833 Shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Korea Investment CORP reduced its holdings in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 964,164 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 22,833 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP owned 0.08% of Williams Companies worth $61,080,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WMB. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new stake in Williams Companies during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new stake in Williams Companies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, South Plains Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Williams Companies by 289.7% during the 2nd quarter. South Plains Financial Inc. now owns 608 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 452 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on WMB shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $78.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Zacks Research raised shares of Williams Companies from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $70.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Williams Companies from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Williams Companies currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.86.

Williams Companies Price Performance

NYSE:WMB opened at $74.16 on Monday. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $51.58 and a 12-month high of $76.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.63. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $66.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $62.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The pipeline company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.57 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.10 billion. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 17.32% and a net margin of 21.90%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.47 earnings per share. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.380 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. This is a positive change from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 98.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In other news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 10,107 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.91, for a total transaction of $757,115.37. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 17,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,290,699.30. This trade represents a 36.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 27,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.92, for a total transaction of $1,968,840.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 293,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,377,154.28. The trade was a 8.43% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 43,107 shares of company stock worth $3,133,015. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Company Profile

Williams Companies, Inc (NYSE: WMB) is a U.S.-based energy infrastructure company focused on the midstream segment of the natural gas value chain. The company develops, owns and operates assets that gather, process, transport and store natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGLs). Its operations support the movement of gas from production areas to end users including utilities, power generators, industrial customers and export facilities.

Williams’s product and service offering includes interstate and intrastate pipeline transmission, gas-gathering systems, processing facilities that remove impurities and separate NGLs, storage services and fractionation and transportation of NGL products.