Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec Invests $44.18 Million in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Key Points

• Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec has invested approximately $44.18 million in Williams Companies, Inc., acquiring 739,200 shares during the first quarter.
• Analysts have issued mostly positive ratings for Williams Companies, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $62.86.
• Williams Companies announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, representing an annualized yield of 3.5%, with a payout ratio currently at 100.50%.

Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec acquired a new position in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 739,200 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $44,175,000. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec owned 0.06% of Williams Companies as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ICONIQ Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 32.1% during the 1st quarter. ICONIQ Capital LLC now owns 9,578 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $572,000 after purchasing an additional 2,325 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in Williams Companies in the first quarter valued at about $2,728,000. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC boosted its stake in Williams Companies by 362.5% during the first quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 1,465,991 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $87,608,000 after buying an additional 1,149,045 shares during the period. Cadence Bank increased its position in shares of Williams Companies by 9.0% during the first quarter. Cadence Bank now owns 8,510 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $509,000 after acquiring an additional 704 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor Inc. raised its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 34.0% in the 1st quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 11,287,921 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $674,566,000 after acquiring an additional 2,861,988 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMB has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $67.00 price objective for the company. Argus restated a "buy" rating and set a $66.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Cibc World Mkts upgraded Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Williams Companies from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $62.86.

Williams Companies Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE WMB opened at $57.14 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $69.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.71, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.66. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $58.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.34. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $43.98 and a 12-month high of $63.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last released 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). Williams Companies had a return on equity of 16.23% and a net margin of 21.63%.The company had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.43 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Williams Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.010-2.190 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 100.50%.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In related news, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares of the firm'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 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.68, for a total transaction of $119,360.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 313,645 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,718,333.60. This trade represents a 0.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 8,500 shares of company stock worth $507,875. 0.44% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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