Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC Lowers Position in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Key Points

• Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC reduced its stake in Williams Companies by 18.3%, selling 4,899 shares and leaving them with 21,897 shares valued at $1,375,000.
• Insider transactions included the sale of 4,500 shares by COO Larry C. Larsen, indicating a 5.48% decrease in his ownership, while the company reported mixed earnings results for the latest quarter.
• Williams Companies has seen a number of analysts issue buy ratings with price targets ranging from $59.00 to $67.00, suggesting a positive outlook for the stock.

Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC reduced its position in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 18.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 21,897 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 4,899 shares during the quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $1,375,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Flaharty Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Menard Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in Williams Companies in the first quarter worth about $26,000. Saudi Central Bank bought a new position in Williams Companies in the first quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Williams Companies by 4,490.9% in the first quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 505 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 494 shares in the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

NYSE WMB traded down $0.19 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $60.19. The stock had a trading volume of 14,759,060 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,639,600. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $58.17 and a 200 day moving average of $58.48. The stock has a market cap of $73.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.65. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $44.51 and a 52-week high of $63.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.54.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.90 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 16.23%. Williams Companies's quarterly revenue was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.43 EPS. Williams Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.010-2.190 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

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 given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 100.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the company'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 value of $115,240.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 311,645 shares in the company, valued at $17,956,984.90. This represents a 0.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 77,612 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,537,973.64. This represents a 5.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 10,500 shares of company stock worth $623,115. 0.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on WMB shares. CIBC upgraded shares of Williams Companies from a "neutral" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and set a $64.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, August 15th. 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. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Williams Companies from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Williams Companies in a research note on Friday. They set an "outperform" rating and a $66.00 price target on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on Williams Companies in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $67.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Williams Companies has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $63.07.

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.