Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec Increases Stock Position in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Key Points

• The Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec increased its holdings in Williams Companies by 11.6%, purchasing 13,787 shares during the first quarter, totaling 132,581 shares valued at approximately $7.9 million.
• Williams Companies is expecting to post an earnings per share (EPS) of 2.08 for the current fiscal year, following a reported EPS of $0.46 for the last quarter, which missed analysts' expectations by $0.03.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, with an annualized yield of 3.5%, underscoring its commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec raised its position in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 11.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 132,581 shares of the pipeline company's stock after purchasing an additional 13,787 shares during the period. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $7,927,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WMB. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 807,019 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in 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 worth $1,770,336,000 after purchasing an additional 1,680,477 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG increased 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 worth $1,047,025,000 after buying an additional 932,998 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 0.4% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 15,291,842 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $913,840,000 after purchasing an additional 54,902 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 45.0% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 11,339,078 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $677,623,000 after acquiring an additional 3,519,370 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

WMB traded down $0.27 during trading on Monday, hitting $56.93. 3,804,639 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,609,014. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $58.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $58.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.61, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.65. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $43.98 and a 1-year high of $63.45.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.03). Williams Companies had a return on equity of 16.23% and a net margin of 21.63%.The business had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.43 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter 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, sell-side analysts predict that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In related news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.62, for a total transaction of $115,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.47, for a total transaction of $263,115.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 10,500 shares of company stock worth $623,115 in the last three months. 0.44% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WMB shares. Argus restated a "buy" rating and issued a $66.00 target price on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Thursday, August 14th. TD Cowen initiated 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. Barclays lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. CIBC raised 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 research note on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 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 presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $62.86.

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.