Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY grew its position in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 27.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 905,078 shares of the pipeline company's stock after acquiring an additional 195,965 shares during the period. Williams Companies accounts for approximately 1.8% of Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY's investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY owned 0.07% of Williams Companies worth $56,848,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WMB. Flaharty Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the first quarter valued at $26,000. Menard Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Saudi Central Bank bought a new position in Williams Companies during the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 4,490.9% in the 1st quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 505 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 494 shares in the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of brokerages have recently commented on WMB. Scotiabank raised 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 note on Tuesday, July 15th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Friday. They set an "outperform" rating and a $66.00 target price on the stock. Barclays raised their price target 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 World Mkts raised Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Argus reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $66.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Thursday, August 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams Companies currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $63.07.
View Our Latest Analysis on WMB
Williams Companies Trading Up 2.6%
Shares of WMB traded up $1.55 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $61.71. 1,515,929 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,529,526. The company's fifty day moving average price is $58.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $58.56. The company has a market capitalization of $75.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.65. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $44.56 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 announced its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.03). Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 16.23%. The business had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.43 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. Williams Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.010-2.190 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Williams Companies Announces Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. Williams Companies's payout ratio is currently 100.50%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other Williams Companies news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.62, for a total transaction of $115,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 311,645 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,956,984.90. This represents a 0.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $263,115.00. Following the completion of 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. Insiders have sold 10,500 shares of company stock valued at $623,115 over the last 90 days. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Williams Companies Profile
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Free Report)
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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