GS Investments Inc. Lowers Holdings in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

GS Investments Inc. lowered its holdings in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) by 22.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 62,817 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 17,741 shares during the quarter. Williams Companies comprises approximately 2.1% of GS Investments Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest holding. GS Investments Inc.’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $3,776,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Towne Trust Company N.A increased its holdings in Williams Companies by 60.2% during the fourth quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 431 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the period. Clearstead Trust LLC raised its stake in Williams Companies by 62.2% in the fourth quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 485 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. WHI TRUST Co LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Entrust Financial LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners bought a new position in Williams Companies in the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Stock Down 2.7%

Shares of Williams Companies stock opened at $76.37 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $73.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $67.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $55.82 and a 52-week high of $80.07. The company has a market cap of $93.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.50, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.61.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.10. Williams Companies had a net margin of 23.39% and a return on equity of 18.34%. The firm had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.380 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 92.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Williams Companies news, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.48, for a total value of $917,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 98,219 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,511,789.12. This trade represents a 10.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO John Dean Porter sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.37, for a total value of $3,768,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 196,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,815,254.79. This trade represents a 20.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 90,869 shares of company stock valued at $6,845,227 in the last 90 days. 0.47% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on WMB shares. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Williams Companies from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Williams Companies from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen raised Williams Companies from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 5th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce raised their price objective on Williams Companies from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperformer” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Williams Companies from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Williams Companies has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $82.40.

About Williams Companies

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.