Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. Boosts Holdings in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Key Points

• Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. significantly increased its stake in Williams Companies, Inc. by 374.4%, acquiring an additional 10,869 shares, bringing its total holdings to 13,772 shares valued at approximately $823,000.
• Analysts have generally positive outlooks for Williams Companies, with Wells Fargo raising the target price from $67.00 to $70.00 and Cibc World Mkts upgrading the stock to a strong-buy rating.
• Williams Companies recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50, with an annualized yield of 3.5%, although its dividend payout ratio stands at 100.50%.

Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 374.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,772 shares of the pipeline company's stock after acquiring an additional 10,869 shares during the quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A.'s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $823,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WMB. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Williams Companies by 40.9% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 13,680 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $740,000 after purchasing an additional 3,969 shares during the period. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $792,000. Crestline Management LP increased its stake in Williams Companies by 131.1% in the fourth quarter. Crestline Management LP now owns 13,189 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $714,000 after purchasing an additional 7,483 shares during the period. CoreCap Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 21.2% during the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 17,181 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $930,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 3,472 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $188,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the period. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Williams Companies Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of WMB traded up $0.44 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $59.20. The company had a trading volume of 1,383,748 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,555,902. Williams Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $44.49 and a one year high of $63.45. The company's fifty day moving average price is $58.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $58.38. The company has a market capitalization of $72.18 billion, a PE ratio of 29.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.65. 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 quarterly 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 net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 16.23%. The firm had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.43 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue 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 forecast that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Williams Companies's payout ratio is 100.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In related news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 311,645 shares in the company, valued at $17,956,984.90. This trade represents a 0.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,537,973.64. The trade was a 5.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 10,500 shares of company stock worth $623,115. 0.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMB has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Cibc World Mkts raised shares of Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $63.00 target price on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Argus reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $66.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Thursday, August 14th. TD Cowen began coverage on Williams Companies in a report on Monday, July 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $67.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Williams Companies currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $62.86.

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.