Dodge & Cox Sells 10,089,391 Shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Key Points

• Dodge & Cox decreased its stake in Williams Companies by 27.8%, selling over 10 million shares, bringing their ownership down to 26.26 million shares worth approximately $1.57 billion.
• Williams Companies reported a missed earnings estimate for the last quarter, with an EPS of $0.46, below the expected $0.49, alongside revenues of $2.78 billion against forecasts of $2.90 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 to be paid at the end of September, representing a 3.5% dividend yield based on an annualized payout.

Dodge & Cox lowered its stake in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 27.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 26,259,123 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 10,089,391 shares during the quarter. Dodge & Cox owned 2.15% of Williams Companies worth $1,569,245,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Williams Companies by 0.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 131,163,184 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $7,838,312,000 after purchasing an additional 807,019 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 6.0% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 29,624,104 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,770,336,000 after acquiring an additional 1,680,477 shares in the last quarter. Blackstone Inc. raised 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 acquiring an additional 5,068,738 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 5.6% during the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 17,520,491 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,047,025,000 after acquiring an additional 932,998 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 0.4% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 15,291,842 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $913,840,000 after acquiring an additional 54,902 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Price Performance

WMB opened at $56.9890 on Friday. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $43.98 and a 12-month high of $63.45. The company has a market cap of $69.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.66. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $58.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.31. 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 analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.43 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. Williams Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.010-2.190 EPS. Research analysts predict that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 100.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 313,645 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,718,333.60. This trade represents a 0.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 77,612 shares in the company, valued at $4,537,973.64. This trade represents a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 8,500 shares of company stock worth $507,875. Insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on WMB shares. TD Cowen started coverage on Williams Companies in a report on Monday, July 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $67.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Williams Companies from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Barclays upped 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. Argus reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $66.00 price objective on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, CIBC upgraded Williams Companies from a "neutral" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and set a $64.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, August 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $62.86.

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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