Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB Shares Bought by Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY

Key Points

• Miller Howard Investments Inc. increased its stake in Williams Companies by 27.6%, now holding 905,078 shares worth approximately $56.8 million, representing about 1.8% of its portfolio.
• Williams Companies recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, which equates to an annualized dividend of $2.00 and a yield of 3.3%.
• During the latest earnings report, Williams reported $0.46 earnings per share, falling short of expectations, with quarterly revenue up 19% year-over-year but below analysts' forecasts.

Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY grew its position in shares of 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 quarter. Williams Companies comprises approximately 1.8% of Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY's holdings, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY owned 0.07% of Williams Companies worth $56,848,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its position in Williams Companies by 1.2% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 577,123 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $34,489,000 after buying an additional 6,816 shares during the last quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC lifted its position in Williams Companies by 362.5% in the first quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 1,465,991 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $87,608,000 after buying an additional 1,149,045 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Williams Companies by 27.5% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 402,967 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $24,081,000 after buying an additional 87,031 shares during the last quarter. Kessler Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in Williams Companies in the first quarter worth $327,000. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Williams Companies by 14.0% in the first quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 85,839 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $5,130,000 after buying an additional 10,561 shares during the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Williams Companies Trading Up 0.2%

WMB traded up $0.10 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $60.21. 4,728,103 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,551,111. The firm's fifty day moving average is $58.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.52. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $44.56 and a 1-year high of $63.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73. The company has a market cap of $73.42 billion, a PE ratio of 30.26, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.65.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $2.78 billion for 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%.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 EPS. Williams Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.010-2.190 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 100.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $63.00 target price on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wolfe Research upgraded Williams Companies from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Williams Companies from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Williams Companies in a research report on Friday. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $66.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $63.07.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.47, for a total transaction of $263,115.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 77,612 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,537,973.64. This trade represents 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 firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.62, for a total value of $115,240.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 311,645 shares in the company, valued at $17,956,984.90. This trade represents a 0.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 10,500 shares of company stock worth $623,115 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

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.