Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Grows Position in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Williams Companies by 150.5%, now owning over 2.2 million shares valued at approximately $138.7 million.
• Multiple institutional investors, including Vanguard and Goldman Sachs, have recently increased their holdings in Williams Companies, with institutional ownership comprising 86.44% of the stock.
• Williams Companies announced a $0.50 quarterly dividend to be paid on September 29, 2023, representing an annual yield of 3.3%.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 150.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,208,095 shares of the pipeline company's stock after buying an additional 1,326,774 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.18% of Williams Companies worth $138,690,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Williams Companies by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 131,163,184 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $7,838,312,000 after purchasing an additional 807,019 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Williams Companies by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 29,624,104 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,770,336,000 after purchasing an additional 1,680,477 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in Williams Companies by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 17,520,491 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,047,025,000 after purchasing an additional 932,998 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Williams Companies by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 15,291,842 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $913,840,000 after purchasing an additional 54,902 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Williams Companies by 45.0% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 11,339,078 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $677,623,000 after buying an additional 3,519,370 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares of the 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 sale, the chief operating officer owned 77,612 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,537,973.64. This trade represents a 5.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.62, for a total transaction of $115,240.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 311,645 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,956,984.90. The trade was a 0.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 10,500 shares of company stock worth $623,115 in the last ninety days. 0.44% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMB traded up $1.25 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $61.41. The stock had a trading volume of 1,216,268 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,527,951. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $44.56 and a 12-month high of $63.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 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 simple moving average of $58.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.56.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last posted 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 revenue was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.43 earnings per share. Williams Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.010-2.190 EPS. On average, 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. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th will be paid 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 3.3%. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 100.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on WMB shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $63.00 target price on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Cibc World Mkts upgraded Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Williams Companies from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $63.07.

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.