Hsbc Holdings PLC Has $170.18 Million Stake in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Key Points

• HSBC Holdings PLC increased its stake in Williams Companies by 2.9% in the first quarter, bringing its holdings to 2.34 million shares valued at about $170.2 million.
• Several other institutional investors also adjusted their positions, and overall 86.44% of Williams Companies is owned by institutions and hedge funds. Meanwhile, company insiders sold shares recently, including senior vice presidents Terrance Lane Wilson and Glen G. Jasek.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on the stock, with a Buy consensus and an average price target of $83.56. Williams also beat quarterly EPS estimates, and it paid a $0.525 per share dividend for a 2.9% yield.

Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 2.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,338,966 shares of the pipeline company's stock after acquiring an additional 65,755 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned 0.19% of Williams Companies worth $170,176,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Williams Companies by 40.9% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 13,680 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $740,000 after purchasing an additional 3,969 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Williams Companies by 5.5% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,635 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $291,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 2.1% in the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 568,928 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $35,734,000 after buying an additional 11,926 shares during the last quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC lifted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 3.0% in the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 10,248 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $644,000 after buying an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 160.1% during the 2nd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 165,035 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $10,366,000 after buying an additional 101,574 shares during the period. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In related news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.16, for a total value of $148,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 283,159 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,999,071.44. This trade represents a 0.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Glen G. Jasek sold 2,500 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.15, for a total value of $195,375.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 54,101 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,227,993.15. This trade represents a 4.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 68,500 shares of company stock worth $5,182,655. 0.47% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $78.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Williams Companies from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $82.00 price objective on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Tuesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $83.56.

Williams Companies Stock Down 1.9%

WMB opened at $73.34 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $74.37 and a 200-day moving average of $71.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $55.82 and a 1-year high of $80.07.

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

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 12th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Williams Companies's payout ratio is presently 92.11%.

About Williams Companies

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.

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