Ascent Group LLC Boosts Holdings in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Key Points

• Ascent Group LLC has increased its stake in Williams Companies, Inc. by 10.6%, now owning 80,481 shares valued at approximately $4.81 million.
• Multiple analysts have raised their price targets for Williams Companies, with Wells Fargo setting a new target at $70.00 and most ratings indicating a "Moderate Buy" average.
• The company reported its most recent quarterly earnings, showing EPS of $0.46, which was below the consensus estimate, while announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share.

Ascent Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 10.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 80,481 shares of the pipeline company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,709 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $4,810,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WMB. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Williams Companies by 40.9% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 13,680 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $740,000 after purchasing an additional 3,969 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Williams Companies by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,889 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $968,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the period. FORA Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at $381,000. Fiduciary Trust Co lifted its holdings in Williams Companies by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co now owns 7,789 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $422,000 after purchasing an additional 433 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in Williams Companies by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 521,862 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $28,243,000 after purchasing an additional 4,714 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on WMB shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective 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. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Scotiabank lifted their price target 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. Finally, Cibc World Mkts raised shares of Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $62.86.

Williams Companies Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of WMB opened at $57.14 on Monday. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $58.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.39. The company has a market capitalization of $69.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.71, a PEG ratio of 1.91 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, Inc. has a one year low of $43.98 and a one year high of $63.45.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.46 earnings per share (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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.43 EPS. The firm'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. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 313,645 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,718,333.60. This trade represents a 0.63% 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 stock in a transaction on 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 owned 77,612 shares in the company, valued at $4,537,973.64. The trade was a 5.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 8,500 shares of company stock valued at $507,875 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

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.

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