MUFG Securities EMEA plc Purchases 194,746 Shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

MUFG Securities EMEA plc boosted its position in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) by 833.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 218,120 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after acquiring an additional 194,746 shares during the period. MUFG Securities EMEA plc’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $13,111,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Towne Trust Company N.A boosted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 60.2% during the 4th quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 431 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC boosted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 62.2% during the 4th quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 485 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. WHI TRUST Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:WMB opened at $71.41 on Monday. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $55.82 and a 52-week high of $80.07. The company has a market capitalization of $87.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $73.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $68.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.83.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.10. Williams Companies had a net margin of 23.39% and a return on equity of 18.34%. The business had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.28 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.60 EPS. Williams Companies’s revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.380 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 29th. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th will be paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 92.11%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on WMB. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Williams Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $82.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce increased their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperformer” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $82.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Payvand Fazel sold 2,898 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.15, for a total value of $211,988.70. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 31,766 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,323,682.90. This trade represents a 8.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Glen G. Jasek sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.15, for a total transaction of $195,375.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 54,101 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,227,993.15. This trade represents a 4.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 78,762 shares of company stock worth $5,937,632 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

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.