Intech Investment Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Key Points

• Intech Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Williams Companies, Inc. by 90% during the first quarter, owning 306,758 shares valued at approximately $18.33 million.
• Analysts have shown positive sentiment towards Williams Companies, with upgrades from Wolfe Research and Wells Fargo raising the stock's price target to $70.00.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, yielding 3.5%, to be paid on September 29th, with a payout ratio of 100.50%.

Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 90.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 306,758 shares of the pipeline company's stock after purchasing an additional 145,277 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $18,332,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMB traded down $0.49 during trading on Friday, hitting $58.84. The stock had a trading volume of 5,630,379 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,573,647. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $58.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.65. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $44.51 and a 12-month high of $63.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73.

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

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 100.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMB has been the topic of a number of research reports. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Barclays raised their price objective on Williams Companies from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. CIBC upgraded Williams Companies from a "neutral" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and set a $64.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 15th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Williams Companies in a report on Monday, July 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $67.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Williams Companies from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $62.86.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.62, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 0.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.47, for a total value of $263,115.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 77,612 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,537,973.64. The trade was a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 10,500 shares of company stock worth $623,115 over the last ninety days. 0.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.