IFP Advisors Inc Sells 6,065 Shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Key Points

• IFP Advisors Inc has reduced its holdings in Williams Companies by **20.6%**, selling **6,065 shares** and now owning **23,360 shares** worth approximately **$1.48 million**.
• Recent analyst reports have varied, with BMO Capital Markets giving an **"outperform" rating** and a target price of **$66.00**, while Wall Street Zen downgraded the stock from **"hold" to "sell"**.
• The Williams Companies has announced a quarterly dividend of **$0.50**, representing an annualized yield of **3.2%**, despite a payout ratio of **100.50%**.

IFP Advisors Inc trimmed its holdings in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 20.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 23,360 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 6,065 shares during the quarter. IFP Advisors Inc's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $1,481,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 131,163,184 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $7,838,312,000 after acquiring an additional 807,019 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 6.0% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 29,624,104 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,770,336,000 after buying an additional 1,680,477 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 5.6% in the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 17,520,491 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,047,025,000 after buying an additional 932,998 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 0.4% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 15,291,842 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $913,840,000 after buying an additional 54,902 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 45.0% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 11,339,078 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $677,623,000 after buying an additional 3,519,370 shares during the period. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMB has been the topic of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets initiated 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 on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, October 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Thursday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $72.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Williams Companies presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $65.94.

Williams Companies Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of Williams Companies stock opened at $62.60 on Monday. 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 company's fifty day simple moving average is $59.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.07. The company has a market cap of $76.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.46, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.65. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $49.30 and a 12-month high of $65.55.

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

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In other news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.62, for a total value of $115,240.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 311,645 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares of the company's 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 77,612 shares in the company, valued at $4,537,973.64. This represents a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 8,500 shares of company stock worth $497,715 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

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.

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