Allstate Corp Sells 16,089 Shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Key Points

• Allstate Corp has reduced its stake in Williams Companies, Inc. by 44.5%, now holding 20,083 shares worth approximately $1.2 million.
• Williams Companies reported a quarterly earnings miss, with EPS of $0.46 compared to expectations of $0.49, despite year-over-year revenue growth of 19%.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50, yielding 3.5%, with a payout ratio of 100.50% for the current fiscal year.

Allstate Corp lessened its stake in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 44.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 20,083 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 16,089 shares during the period. Allstate Corp's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $1,200,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,889 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $968,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Castleview Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 4,492 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $268,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Napa Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Napa Wealth Management now owns 7,190 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $389,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP boosted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 16,712 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $999,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Perkins Coie Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 13.3% in the 1st quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 1,700 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $102,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.68, for a total transaction of $119,360.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 313,645 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,718,333.60. The trade was a 0.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.47, for a total value of $263,115.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 77,612 shares in the company, valued at $4,537,973.64. The trade was a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 8,500 shares of company stock worth $507,875 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Trading Up 0.7%

WMB traded up $0.39 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $57.52. 5,909,783 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,689,763. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.66. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $43.98 and a 1-year high of $63.45. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $58.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last announced its 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). The company had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 16.23% and a net margin of 21.63%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.43 earnings per share. Williams Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.010-2.190 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. Williams Companies's payout ratio is presently 100.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WMB. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Williams Companies from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $63.00 price objective on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Wolfe Research raised Williams Companies from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Williams Companies from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $62.86.

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.