Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Has $674.57 Million Position in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Key Points

• Bahl & Gaynor Inc. increased its holdings in Williams Companies by 34.0% during the first quarter, owning over 11 million shares worth approximately $674 million.
• Analysts have recently upgraded Williams Companies' stock ratings, with a consensus price target of $62.86, reflecting a Moderate Buy outlook among research analysts.
• The company announced a $0.50 quarterly dividend to be paid on September 29th, with a dividend yield of 3.5% and a payout ratio of 100.5%.

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. increased its stake in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 34.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,287,921 shares of the pipeline company's stock after buying an additional 2,861,988 shares during the quarter. Williams Companies comprises approximately 3.4% of Bahl & Gaynor Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest position. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. owned 0.93% of Williams Companies worth $674,566,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WMB. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the first quarter worth approximately $335,419,000. Blackstone Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 36.5% during the fourth quarter. Blackstone Inc. now owns 18,954,088 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,025,795,000 after buying an additional 5,068,738 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 45.0% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 11,339,078 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $677,623,000 after purchasing an additional 3,519,370 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Williams Companies by 6,407.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,238,490 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $133,772,000 after buying an additional 2,204,090 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Castle Hook Partners LP boosted its position in Williams Companies by 69.1% during the fourth quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 5,055,184 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $273,587,000 after purchasing an additional 2,065,906 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

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 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,537,973.64. This represents a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were 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 directly owned 313,645 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,718,333.60. This represents a 0.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 8,500 shares of company stock valued at $507,875. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on WMB. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $63.00 target price on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Williams Companies from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $62.86.

Williams Companies Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of WMB traded up $0.51 on Thursday, hitting $58.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,679,068 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,652,189. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $58.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.33. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $43.98 and a fifty-two week high of $63.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.66.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 company's revenue was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous 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 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 100.50%.

Williams Companies 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.