Fifth Third Bancorp Purchases 47,208 Shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Key Points

• Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in Williams Companies by 19.5%, acquiring an additional 47,208 shares, bringing its total holdings to 289,807 shares worth approximately $18.2 million.
• Williams Companies recently missed earnings expectations with a reported $0.46 EPS, falling short of the consensus estimate of $0.49, although revenue increased by 19% year-over-year.
• In reaction to recent market analysis, various analysts have issued ratings updates on Williams, with Cibc World Markets upgrading the stock to a "strong-buy" while others maintain a "buy" rating.

Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 19.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 289,807 shares of the pipeline company's stock after acquiring an additional 47,208 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $18,203,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Williams Companies by 40.9% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 13,680 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $740,000 after purchasing an additional 3,969 shares during the period. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,029,000. Menard Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH raised its position in shares of Williams Companies by 45.3% during the 4th quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 22,800 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,234,000 after acquiring an additional 7,113 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.62, for a total transaction of $115,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 311,645 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,956,984.90. The trade was a 0.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.47, for a total transaction of $263,115.00. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 10,500 shares of company stock worth $623,115 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on WMB shares. Cibc World Mkts upgraded Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Wall Street Zen lowered Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $63.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Argus reissued a "buy" rating and set a $66.00 price objective on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, CIBC upgraded shares of 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 equities research 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, Williams Companies currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $63.07.

Williams Companies Price Performance

NYSE WMB opened at $62.83 on Thursday. 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 stock has a market cap of $76.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.57, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.65. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $58.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $58.61. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $44.56 and a 52-week 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 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 company had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.43 EPS. The firm'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. Analysts anticipate that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. Williams Companies's payout ratio is presently 100.50%.

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.

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