Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB Shares Sold by Gabelli Funds LLC

Key Points

• Gabelli Funds LLC sold 109,600 shares of Williams Companies, Inc., reducing its stake by 41.4%, leaving it with 155,100 shares valued at approximately $9.27 million.
• Williams Companies recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50, resulting in an annualized yield of 3.5%, with a payout ratio of 100.50%.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for the stock, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $62.86.

Gabelli Funds LLC cut its stake in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 41.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 155,100 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 109,600 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $9,269,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FORA Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 112.2% during the 1st quarter. FORA Capital LLC now owns 14,932 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $892,000 after buying an additional 7,896 shares during the period. WCG Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. WCG Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 22,488 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,344,000 after buying an additional 245 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 1st quarter valued at $44,175,000. ICONIQ Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 32.1% during the 1st quarter. ICONIQ Capital LLC now owns 9,578 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $572,000 after buying an additional 2,325 shares during the period. Finally, Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 1st quarter valued at $2,728,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMB has been the subject of several research reports. CIBC raised 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 research note on Friday, August 15th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. One equities research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $62.86.

Williams Companies Stock Down 0.2%

WMB stock traded down $0.12 during trading on Monday, reaching $57.88. The stock had a trading volume of 4,093,394 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,652,738. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $43.98 and a 1-year high of $63.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73. The company has a market capitalization of $70.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.09, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.65. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $58.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.39.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.46 EPS 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.43 EPS. The business'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. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. Williams Companies's payout ratio is currently 100.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $18,718,333.60. This represents a 0.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares of the company's 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 77,612 shares in the company, 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 sold a total of 8,500 shares of company stock worth $507,875 in the last quarter. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.