Heartland Bank & Trust Co Buys New Stake in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Key Points

• Heartland Bank & Trust Co has acquired a new stake in Williams Companies, Inc. by purchasing 11,935 shares worth approximately $750,000 in the second quarter.
• Williams Companies reported earnings per share of $0.46 for the last quarter, missing estimates by $0.03, with a revenue of $2.78 billion that fell short of expectations.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, indicating a 3.2% yield, with a payout ratio of 100.50%.

Heartland Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 11,935 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $750,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its stake in Williams Companies by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 577,123 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $34,489,000 after purchasing an additional 6,816 shares during the period. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC boosted its stake in Williams Companies by 362.5% during the 1st quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 1,465,991 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $87,608,000 after purchasing an additional 1,149,045 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Williams Companies by 27.5% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 402,967 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $24,081,000 after purchasing an additional 87,031 shares during the period. Kessler Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies during the 1st quarter worth $327,000. Finally, Good Steward Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies during the 1st quarter worth $977,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:WMB opened at $62.63 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $59.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $59.09. Williams Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $50.24 and a twelve month high of $65.55. The company has a market capitalization of $76.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.65.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 business had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.43 earnings per share. The business's 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. As a group, research analysts expect that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 12th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 12th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Williams Companies's payout ratio is 100.50%.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In other news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.62, for a total transaction of $115,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 311,645 shares in the company, valued at $17,956,984.90. The trade was a 0.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction dated 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 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 8,500 shares of company stock valued at $497,715. Insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Friday, September 19th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $66.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $70.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. CIBC upgraded shares of Williams Companies from a "neutral" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and set a $64.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $65.94.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WMB? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.