1,049,204 Shares in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB Purchased by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired 1.05 million Williams Companies shares worth approximately $78 million, while other major institutions also added substantial positions. Institutional investors now own 86.44% of the company.
• Williams reported quarterly earnings of $0.50 per share, in line with estimates, while revenue of $3.05 billion exceeded expectations and rose 9.8% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, representing a $2.10 annualized payout and a 3.0% yield. Analysts maintain a consensus “Buy” rating with an average price target of $85.60.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,049,204 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $77,998,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.09% of Williams Companies at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $747,749,000. BROOKFIELD Corp ON grew its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 190.3% during the second quarter. BROOKFIELD Corp ON now owns 12,028,186 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $755,490,000 after buying an additional 7,884,730 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the second quarter worth $500,305,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the second quarter valued at about $354,184,000. Finally, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the second quarter worth about $329,094,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:WMB opened at $71.00 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $73.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $73.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83. The company has a market capitalization of $86.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.29, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.58. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $56.08 and a 12-month high of $80.07.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The pipeline company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50. The company had revenue of $3.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.83 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 25.17% and a return on equity of 18.49%. Williams Companies's revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.46 earnings per share. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.350-2.350 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.45 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is 83.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In related news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 13,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.87, for a total value of $973,310.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 268,159 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,077,064.33. This trade represents a 4.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 17,000 shares of company stock worth $1,262,930 in the last 90 days. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on WMB. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upped their price target on Williams Companies from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "outperformer" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $82.00 price objective on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Williams Companies from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $85.60.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source