Jump Financial LLC Buys New Holdings in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Key Points

• Jump Financial LLC has acquired a new stake in Williams Companies, purchasing 45,644 shares valued at approximately $2.73 million.
• Williams Companies has been downgraded to a "sell" rating by Wall Street Zen, while other brokerages have set varied price targets ranging from $60.00 to $66.00.
• The company is scheduled to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.50 on September 29th, representing an annualized dividend yield of 3.5%.

Jump Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 45,644 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $2,728,000.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Williams Companies by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,889 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $968,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Castleview Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 4.2% in the first quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 4,492 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Napa Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Napa Wealth Management now owns 7,190 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $389,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP grew its holdings in Williams Companies by 1.2% during the first quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 16,712 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $999,000 after buying an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Perkins Coie Trust Co raised its position in Williams Companies by 13.3% in the 1st quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 1,700 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $102,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMB has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $63.00 target price on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. CIBC raised shares of 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. Cibc World Mkts raised Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $62.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In other news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 313,645 shares in the company, valued at $18,718,333.60. The trade was a 0.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 77,612 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,537,973.64. This represents a 5.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 8,500 shares of company stock valued at $507,875. Insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

WMB stock traded down $0.12 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $57.88. 4,093,394 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,839,793. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.58 billion, a PE ratio of 29.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $58.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $58.39. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $43.98 and a 52 week high of $63.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.54.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last released 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 the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 16.23%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter 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. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 100.50%.

Williams Companies 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.