GS Investments Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Key Points

• GS Investments Inc. cut its stake in Williams Companies by 22% in the fourth quarter, selling 17,741 shares and ending with 62,817 shares worth about $3.78 million.
• Insider selling has also been notable, with executives Todd J. Rinke and Mary A. Hausman reducing their holdings; insiders have sold 90,869 shares worth about $6.85 million over the last 90 days.
• Analysts remain bullish on WMB, with an average “Buy” rating and an average price target of $82.40, while the stock recently traded at $76.37 after reporting better-than-expected quarterly EPS of $0.73.

GS Investments Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 22.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 62,817 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 17,741 shares during the period. Williams Companies makes up approximately 2.1% of GS Investments Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. GS Investments Inc.'s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $3,776,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Towne Trust Company N.A raised its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 60.2% during the 4th quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 431 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC raised its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 62.2% during the 4th quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 485 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. WHI TRUST Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Entrust Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Todd J. Rinke sold 7,364 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.39, for a total value of $547,807.96. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 26,055 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,938,231.45. This represents a 22.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 10,107 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.91, for a total value of $757,115.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 17,230 shares in the company, valued at $1,290,699.30. This trade represents a 36.97% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 90,869 shares of company stock worth $6,845,227 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.47% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMB has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their target price on Williams Companies from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Williams Companies from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Williams Companies from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $82.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Zacks Research raised Williams Companies from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $82.40.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of Williams Companies stock opened at $76.37 on Wednesday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $73.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $67.79. The company has a market capitalization of $93.29 billion, a PE ratio of 33.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $55.82 and a 52 week high of $80.07.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.28 billion. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 18.34% and a net margin of 23.39%.Williams Companies's quarterly revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.60 EPS. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.380 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be given a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 12th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is 92.11%.

Williams Companies Profile

Williams Companies, Inc NYSE: WMB is a U.S.-based energy infrastructure company focused on the midstream segment of the natural gas value chain. The company develops, owns and operates assets that gather, process, transport and store natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGLs). Its operations support the movement of gas from production areas to end users including utilities, power generators, industrial customers and export facilities.

Williams’s product and service offering includes interstate and intrastate pipeline transmission, gas-gathering systems, processing facilities that remove impurities and separate NGLs, storage services and fractionation and transportation of NGL products.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.