Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB Holdings Raised by Acadian Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Acadian Asset Management LLC significantly increased its stake in Williams Companies, Inc. by 132.4%, owning a total of 629,206 shares worth approximately $37.59 million after acquiring 358,502 shares.
• Insider selling activity included senior vice president Terrance Lane Wilson and COO Larry C. Larsen, who collectively sold 6,500 shares valued at over $378,000.
• Williams Companies announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, with a dividend yield of 3.4%, while also facing a miss in quarterly earnings with an EPS of $0.46 against an expected $0.49.

Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 132.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 629,206 shares of the pipeline company's stock after buying an additional 358,502 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Williams Companies worth $37,588,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 90.0% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 306,758 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $18,332,000 after purchasing an additional 145,277 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth increased its position in shares of Williams Companies by 1.2% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 663,929 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $39,676,000 after acquiring an additional 7,854 shares in the last quarter. Flaharty Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Integrity Alliance LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the first quarter worth about $570,000. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Williams Companies by 15.7% during the first quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 7,379 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $441,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Williams Companies stock traded down $0.49 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $58.84. 5,630,379 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,573,647. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $44.51 and a 12-month high of $63.45. The company has a market cap of $71.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.57, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $58.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $58.42.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.03). Williams Companies had a return on equity of 16.23% and a net margin of 21.63%.The company had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.43 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue 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 forecast that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. Williams Companies's payout ratio is presently 100.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Cibc World Mkts raised shares of Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. CIBC upgraded shares of Williams Companies from a "neutral" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and set a $64.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Williams Companies has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $62.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.62, for a total transaction of $115,240.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 311,645 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,956,984.90. The trade was a 0.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.47, for a total transaction of $263,115.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 77,612 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,537,973.64. The trade was a 5.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 10,500 shares of company stock worth $623,115. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Williams Companies Company 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.