Aberdeen Group plc Reduces Stock Position in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc reduced its stake in Williams Companies, Inc. by 2.2% during the second quarter, now owning approximately 1.79 million shares valued at $113.24 million.
• Other institutional investors have also adjusted their shares, with PDS Planning Inc increasing its position by 15.5% during the same period.
• Williams Companies recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50, with a yield of 3.2%, and a payout ratio currently at 100.50%.

Aberdeen Group plc lessened its stake in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 2.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,792,615 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 40,935 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc owned approximately 0.15% of Williams Companies worth $113,239,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. PDS Planning Inc increased its position in Williams Companies by 15.5% during the 2nd quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 8,261 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $519,000 after purchasing an additional 1,111 shares in the last quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Williams Companies by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 143,031 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $8,984,000 after buying an additional 6,102 shares during the period. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in Williams Companies by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC now owns 67,439 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $4,236,000 after buying an additional 901 shares during the period. WMG Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Williams Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at about $204,000. Finally, Freedom Day Solutions LLC grew its holdings in Williams Companies by 195.9% in the 2nd quarter. Freedom Day Solutions LLC now owns 54,226 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $3,406,000 after buying an additional 35,902 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.62, for a total value of $115,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 311,645 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,956,984.90. The trade was a 0.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.47, for a total value of $263,115.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 77,612 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,537,973.64. This trade represents a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 8,500 shares of company stock worth $497,715. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

NYSE WMB opened at $62.60 on Friday. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $59.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.08. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $49.30 and a 1-year high of $65.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.48.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.03). Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 16.23%. The business had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.43 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. Williams Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.010-2.190 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 12th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 12th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 100.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on WMB. TD Cowen began coverage on Williams Companies in a report on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $67.00 price target for the company. Barclays lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $63.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Argus restated a "buy" rating and issued a $66.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Thursday, August 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $65.94.

Williams Companies 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.

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