Ashton Thomas Securities LLC Boosts Stake in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Key Points

• Ashton Thomas Securities LLC significantly increased its stake in Williams Companies, Inc. by 181.3%, acquiring a total of 12,353 shares worth approximately $738,000 as of the latest quarter.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, with an ex-dividend date of September 12th, resulting in an annual yield of 3.5%.
• Williams Companies recently reported earnings of $0.46 per share, falling short of analysts' expectations and projecting a FY 2025 EPS guidance of 2.010-2.190.

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC raised its stake in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 181.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,353 shares of the pipeline company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,961 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $738,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WMB. Menard Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in Williams Companies during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 4,490.9% in the 1st quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 505 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 494 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Abound Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $63.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Cibc World Mkts upgraded Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Williams Companies from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Wolfe Research upgraded Williams Companies from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Finally, TD Cowen assumed coverage on Williams Companies in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $67.00 price target for the company. One investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $62.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In other news, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares of the company's 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 sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 77,612 shares in the company, valued at $4,537,973.64. This represents a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.68, for a total value of $119,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 313,645 shares in the company, valued at $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 8,500 shares of company stock worth $507,875 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Price Performance

WMB stock traded down $0.22 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $57.51. 5,554,666 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,633,890. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market cap of $70.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.90, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.65. Williams Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $43.98 and a fifty-two week high of $63.45. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $58.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.39.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last released 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). The firm 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.43 EPS. Williams Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.010-2.190 EPS. Research analysts predict that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

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

About Williams Companies

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.