First Financial Bankshares Inc Decreases Stock Holdings in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Key Points

• First Financial Bankshares Inc reduced its holdings in Williams Companies, Inc. by 2.4%, selling 36,856 shares in the 1st quarter, bringing its total to 1,485,528 shares valued at approximately $88.8 million.
• Several institutional investors have increased their stakes in Williams Companies, with Nuveen LLC purchasing a new stake worth $335.4 million and Blackstone Inc. increasing its position by 36.5% to own nearly 19 million shares.
• Williams Companies reported $0.46 earnings per share for the last quarter, missing analysts' estimates, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, yielding 3.5% annually.

First Financial Bankshares Inc lowered its stake in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 2.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,485,528 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 36,856 shares during the period. Williams Companies accounts for about 1.9% of First Financial Bankshares Inc's investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. First Financial Bankshares Inc owned about 0.12% of Williams Companies worth $88,775,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies in the first quarter worth about $335,419,000. Blackstone Inc. increased its position in shares of Williams Companies by 36.5% during the 4th quarter. Blackstone Inc. now owns 18,954,088 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,025,795,000 after purchasing an additional 5,068,738 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lifted its stake in Williams Companies by 34.0% during the first quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 11,287,921 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $674,566,000 after purchasing an additional 2,861,988 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 6,407.2% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,238,490 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $133,772,000 after purchasing an additional 2,204,090 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

WMB traded down $0.22 on Thursday, hitting $57.51. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,554,666 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,633,890. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $58.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.39. The firm has a market cap of $70.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.65. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $43.98 and a 12 month high of $63.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last announced 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). The firm had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 16.23%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.43 earnings per share. Williams Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.010-2.190 EPS. Analysts forecast that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

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 issued a $0.50 dividend. 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 100.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on WMB. CIBC upgraded 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Williams Companies from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. TD Cowen started coverage on Williams Companies in a report on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $67.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Williams Companies from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $62.86.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In other news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.68, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 0.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.47, for a total transaction of $263,115.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 77,612 shares in the company, valued at $4,537,973.64. The trade was a 5.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 8,500 shares of company stock worth $507,875 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

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.