Inspire Trust Co. N.A. Purchases 5,000 Shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Key Points

• Inspire Trust Co. N.A. increased its holdings in Williams Companies, Inc. by 7.0%, now owning 76,900 shares valued at approximately $4.6 million.
• Several other institutional investors have also raised their positions in Williams Companies, with 86.44% of the stock currently owned by institutional investors.
• The company recently reported quarterly earnings of $0.46 EPS, missing analyst expectations, while also announcing a dividend of $0.50 per share to be paid on September 29th.

Inspire Trust Co. N.A. boosted its position in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 7.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 76,900 shares of the pipeline company's stock after buying an additional 5,000 shares during the period. Williams Companies accounts for about 1.1% of Inspire Trust Co. N.A.'s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Inspire Trust Co. N.A.'s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $4,596,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Williams Companies by 40.9% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 13,680 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $740,000 after buying an additional 3,969 shares in the last quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $213,000. CreativeOne Wealth LLC lifted its position in Williams Companies by 54.0% in the fourth quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 38,363 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $2,076,000 after purchasing an additional 13,448 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $305,000. Finally, Guggenheim Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 173,128 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $9,370,000 after acquiring an additional 7,249 shares during the period. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Williams Companies stock traded down $0.1630 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $56.3570. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,936,516 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,738,943. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.66. Williams Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $43.96 and a twelve month high of $63.45. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $58.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $58.31.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 16.23% and a net margin of 21.63%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.43 EPS. Williams Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.010-2.190 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Williams Companies's payout ratio is presently 100.50%.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 5.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.68, for a total transaction of $119,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 313,645 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 8,500 shares of company stock worth $507,875. Insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on WMB. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $67.00 price objective on the stock. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Williams Companies from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday. CIBC upgraded shares of Williams Companies from a "neutral" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and set a $64.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $63.00 price objective on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $62.86.

Williams Companies Company 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.