Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB Shares Sold by AlphaQuest LLC

Key Points

• AlphaQuest LLC drastically reduced its holdings in Williams Companies, Inc. by 89.5% during the 1st quarter, leaving it with only 1,573 shares valued at approximately $94,000.
• Institutional investors own 86.44% of Williams Companies stock, with notable hedge funds like Brighton Jones LLC and Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increasing their positions significantly in the previous quarter.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook on Williams Companies, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $62.86.

AlphaQuest LLC lessened its position in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 89.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,573 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 13,438 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $94,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its position in Williams Companies by 1.2% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 577,123 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $34,489,000 after buying an additional 6,816 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Williams Companies by 27.5% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 402,967 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $24,081,000 after purchasing an additional 87,031 shares during the period. Kessler Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the first quarter valued at about $327,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Williams Companies by 14.0% in the first quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 85,839 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $5,130,000 after purchasing an additional 10,561 shares during the period. Finally, Good Steward Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the first quarter valued at about $977,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Trading Down 0.8%

NYSE:WMB traded down $0.44 on Friday, hitting $57.14. The stock had a trading volume of 8,344,809 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,638,097. 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 market cap of $69.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.71, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $58.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $58.39. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $43.98 and a 1-year high of $63.45.

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

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The company 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 $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. Williams Companies's payout ratio is presently 100.50%.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares of the company'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 transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 77,612 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,537,973.64. This represents a 5.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.68, for a total transaction of $119,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 313,645 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,718,333.60. This represents a 0.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 8,500 shares of company stock worth $507,875 over the last quarter. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WMB. Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Argus reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $66.00 target price on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Williams Companies from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.