IFM Investors Pty Ltd Buys 15,304 Shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Key Points

• IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its holdings in Williams Companies, Inc. by 5.1%, now owning $19.94 million worth of stock after purchasing an additional 15,304 shares.
• Insider selling was noted, with COO Larry C. Larsen selling 4,500 shares and SVP Terrance Lane Wilson selling 2,000 shares, indicating a decrease in ownership for both individuals.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, yielding 3.3%, with a reported annual dividend payout ratio of 100.50%.

IFM Investors Pty Ltd boosted its holdings in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 317,530 shares of the pipeline company's stock after purchasing an additional 15,304 shares during the quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $19,944,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Flaharty Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in Williams Companies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Menard Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Saudi Central Bank bought a new position in Williams Companies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Williams Companies by 4,490.9% in the 1st quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 505 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 494 shares during the period. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.62, for a total transaction of $115,240.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 311,645 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,956,984.90. This represents a 0.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.47, for a total value of $263,115.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 77,612 shares in the company, valued at $4,537,973.64. The trade was a 5.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 10,500 shares of company stock worth $623,115 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Trading Down 0.3%

WMB stock traded down $0.19 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $60.19. The company's stock had a trading volume of 14,759,060 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,639,600. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.54. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $58.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.50. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $44.51 and a 1 year high of $63.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.25, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.65.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.46 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.43 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. Williams Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.010-2.190 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 100.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on WMB shares. Wolfe Research raised Williams Companies from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. Cibc World Mkts raised Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Argus reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $66.00 price objective on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Wall Street Zen cut Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on Williams Companies from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $63.07.

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.