Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec Makes New $47.74 Million Investment in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Key Points

• Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec purchased 642,152 Williams Companies shares worth approximately $47.74 million, joining institutional investors that collectively own 86.44% of the pipeline company.
• Williams reported quarterly EPS of $0.50, in line with estimates, while revenue of $3.05 billion exceeded expectations and rose 9.8% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, equivalent to an annualized $2.10 payout and a 2.8% yield; analysts maintain a consensus “Buy” rating with an average price target of $85.60.

Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 642,152 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $47,738,000. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec owned approximately 0.05% of Williams Companies at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Apella Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 5,988 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $450,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 0.9% during the second quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 16,153 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,201,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Aletheian Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Williams Companies by 3.8% during the second quarter. Aletheian Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,830 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $285,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Williams Companies by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,000 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $361,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Williams Companies by 5.2% in the second quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 2,986 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $222,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams Companies Stock Down 0.3%

NYSE WMB opened at $74.19 on Friday. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $56.08 and a 52 week high of $80.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83. The company has a market capitalization of $90.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.58. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $73.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $73.33.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The pipeline company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.50. The company had revenue of $3.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.83 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 25.17% and a return on equity of 18.49%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.46 EPS. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.350-2.350 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.45 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 28th. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Williams Companies's payout ratio is 83.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 13,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.87, for a total value of $973,310.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 268,159 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,077,064.33. This represents a 4.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 17,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,262,930. Corporate insiders own 0.47% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WMB. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Williams Companies from $88.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Williams Companies from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $85.60.

About Williams Companies

Williams Companies, Inc NYSE: WMB is a U.S.-based energy infrastructure company focused on the midstream segment of the natural gas value chain. The company develops, owns and operates assets that gather, process, transport and store natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGLs). Its operations support the movement of gas from production areas to end users including utilities, power generators, industrial customers and export facilities.

Williams’s product and service offering includes interstate and intrastate pipeline transmission, gas-gathering systems, processing facilities that remove impurities and separate NGLs, storage services and fractionation and transportation of NGL products.

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