MetLife Investment Management LLC Cuts Stake in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Key Points

• MetLife Investment Management LLC decreased its stake in Williams Companies, Inc. by 1.9%, owning 316,574 shares valued at approximately $18.9 million after selling 6,038 shares in the first quarter.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for Williams Companies, with one strong buy, ten buy, and five hold ratings, and a consensus price target of $62.86.
• Williams announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, with an ex-dividend date of September 12th, reflecting a 3.5% annual yield.

MetLife Investment Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 1.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 316,574 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 6,038 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $18,918,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Menard Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 4,490.9% during 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. Abound Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 1st quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 1st quarter worth $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Williams Companies from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Cibc World Mkts raised shares of Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued 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 data from MarketBeat, Williams Companies presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $62.86.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The shares were 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 approximately $4,537,973.64. This represents a 5.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the company'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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 8,500 shares of company stock worth $507,875. 0.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WMB opened at $56.9890 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $69.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.64, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.66. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $43.98 and a 52 week high of $63.45. The company's 50-day moving average price is $58.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $58.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73.

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

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

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 issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is 100.50%.

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.

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