Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Has $59.72 Million Stock Position in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Key Points

• Epoch Investment Partners Inc. reduced its stake in Williams Companies, Inc. by 32.5%, now owning approximately $59.72 million worth of the stock.
• Insider transactions included COO Larry C. Larsen selling 4,500 shares, reducing his ownership by 5.48%, and the company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, yielding 3.5% annually.
• Recent analyst reports showed a generally positive outlook for Williams Companies, with price targets ranging from $60.00 to $67.00 and an average rating of "Moderate Buy."

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 32.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 999,377 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 482,207 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. owned 0.08% of Williams Companies worth $59,723,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Williams Companies by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,889 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $968,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Castleview Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 4,492 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $268,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. Napa Wealth Management lifted its stake in Williams Companies by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Napa Wealth Management now owns 7,190 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $389,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP grew its holdings in Williams Companies by 1.2% during the first quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 16,712 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $999,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the period. Finally, Perkins Coie Trust Co grew its holdings in Williams Companies by 13.3% during the first quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 1,700 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.47, for a total value of $263,115.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 77,612 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 SEC, which is accessible 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 shares were sold at an average price of $59.68, for a total value of $119,360.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 313,645 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,718,333.60. This represents a 0.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 8,500 shares of company stock worth $507,875 over the last three months. 0.44% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Williams Companies Trading Up 0.5%

WMB opened at $57.14 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.48. Williams Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $43.98 and a fifty-two week high of $63.45. The company's 50 day moving average price is $58.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $58.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.71, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.66.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 16.23%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.43 earnings per share. Williams Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.010-2.190 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 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 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 yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 100.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMB has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Williams Companies from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. TD Cowen started coverage on Williams Companies in a report on Monday, July 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $67.00 price target for the company. CIBC upgraded shares of Williams Companies from a "neutral" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and set a $64.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, August 15th. Argus reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $66.00 price objective on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Cibc World Mkts raised shares of Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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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