Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB Shares Sold by Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.

Key Points

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Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. reduced its stake in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 4.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 319,367 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 14,583 shares during the period. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.'s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $19,085,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its stake in Williams Companies by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 577,123 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $34,489,000 after purchasing an additional 6,816 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 27.5% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 402,967 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $24,081,000 after purchasing an additional 87,031 shares during the period. Kessler Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in Williams Companies in the first quarter valued at approximately $327,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Williams Companies by 14.0% in the 1st quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 85,839 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $5,130,000 after buying an additional 10,561 shares during the period. Finally, Good Steward Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the 1st quarter worth approximately $977,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on WMB. Argus reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $66.00 price objective on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $67.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $63.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $62.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, 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 transaction of $119,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 313,645 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,718,333.60. This represents a 0.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.47, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 5.48% 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 owned by insiders.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of WMB stock traded up $0.5550 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $57.7750. 4,383,881 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,938,861. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $43.98 and a 52-week high of $63.45. 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 company has a market cap of $70.45 billion, a PE ratio of 29.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.66. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $58.81 and a 200 day moving average of $58.30.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.03). The business 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 revenue for the quarter was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.43 EPS. Williams Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.010-2.190 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.