Guggenheim Capital LLC Decreases Stock Position in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Key Points

• Guggenheim Capital LLC reduced its position in Williams Companies by 5.8%, owning 163,061 shares worth approximately $9.7 million after selling 10,067 shares in the first quarter.
• Williams Companies reported a quarterly earnings of $0.46 per share, missing estimates, while revenue was up 19% year-over-year but still below consensus expectations.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50, translating to an annualized dividend of $2.00 and a dividend yield of 3.4%, despite a 100.50% payout ratio.

Guggenheim Capital LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 5.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 163,061 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 10,067 shares during the period. Guggenheim Capital LLC's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $9,745,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ieq Capital LLC grew its stake in Williams Companies by 16.9% during the first quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 63,461 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $3,792,000 after purchasing an additional 9,154 shares during the period. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies during the first quarter worth approximately $220,000. FORA Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Williams Companies by 112.2% in the first quarter. FORA Capital LLC now owns 14,932 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $892,000 after acquiring an additional 7,896 shares in the last quarter. WCG Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Williams Companies by 1.1% in the first quarter. WCG Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 22,488 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,344,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec bought a new position in Williams Companies in the first quarter worth approximately $44,175,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of WMB stock traded down $0.12 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $57.88. The company had a trading volume of 4,093,394 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,652,738. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $58.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.39. The company has a market cap of $70.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.09, 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.48.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 16.23% and a net margin of 21.63%.The business's revenue was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.43 earnings per share. Williams Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.010-2.190 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 100.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 77,612 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,537,973.64. This trade represents a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The stock was 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 $18,718,333.60. This trade represents a 0.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 8,500 shares of company stock worth $507,875 over the last quarter. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMB has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays increased their price target on Williams Companies from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Scotiabank increased their price target on Williams Companies from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Argus reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $66.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Wolfe Research upgraded Williams Companies from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, CIBC upgraded Williams Companies from a "neutral" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and set a $64.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, August 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $62.86.

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.