Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Sells 71,741 Shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Key Points

• Exchange Traded Concepts LLC reduced its stake in Williams Companies, Inc. by 7.4%, owning 891,966 shares after selling 71,741 shares in the second quarter.
• Williams Companies announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, with an annualized yield of 3.4%, to be paid on September 29th.
• Analysts have varied ratings for Williams Companies, with target prices ranging from $59.00 to $70.00, indicating a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lowered its stake in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 7.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 891,966 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 71,741 shares during the quarter. Williams Companies comprises about 0.7% of Exchange Traded Concepts LLC's holdings, making the stock its 19th largest position. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC owned 0.07% of Williams Companies worth $56,024,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WMB. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Williams Companies by 0.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 131,163,184 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $7,838,312,000 after acquiring an additional 807,019 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 1,680,477 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 5.6% in 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 buying an additional 932,998 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Williams Companies by 0.4% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 15,291,842 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $913,840,000 after buying an additional 54,902 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Williams Companies by 45.0% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 11,339,078 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $677,623,000 after purchasing an additional 3,519,370 shares during the period. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares of the firm's 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,537,973.64. This represents a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 10,500 shares of company stock valued at $623,115. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on WMB. Wolfe Research raised Williams Companies from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. CIBC raised Williams Companies from a "neutral" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and set a $64.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, August 15th. Scotiabank lifted 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. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Williams Companies in a report on Friday. They set an "outperform" rating and a $66.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $63.00 price objective on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $63.07.

Williams Companies Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of WMB stock traded down $0.19 on Friday, hitting $60.19. The stock had a trading volume of 14,759,060 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,639,600. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $44.51 and a 52-week high of $63.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.65. The stock's 50 day moving average is $58.17 and its 200-day moving average is $58.50.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last released 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). Williams Companies had a return on equity of 16.23% and a net margin of 21.63%.The firm had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.43 EPS. The firm'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. As a group, research analysts expect that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is 100.50%.

Williams Companies Company 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.