Northstar Advisory Group LLC Acquires 32,758 Shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Key Points

• Northstar Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in Williams Companies by 145.9% during the second quarter, acquiring an additional 32,758 shares, bringing their total to 55,217 shares valued at approximately $3.47 million.
• Williams Companies reported $0.46 EPS for the latest quarter, missing analysts' estimates of $0.49, while revenues were up 19% year-over-year but fell short of expectations.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, offering an annualized yield of 3.4%, with a payout ratio of 100.50%.

Northstar Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 145.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 55,217 shares of the pipeline company's stock after buying an additional 32,758 shares during the quarter. Williams Companies accounts for about 1.7% of Northstar Advisory Group LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Northstar Advisory Group LLC's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $3,468,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 0.6% in the first 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 increased its position in shares of Williams Companies by 6.0% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 29,624,104 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,770,336,000 after purchasing an additional 1,680,477 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in shares of Williams Companies by 5.6% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Williams Companies by 0.4% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 15,291,842 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $913,840,000 after purchasing an additional 54,902 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Williams Companies by 45.0% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 11,339,078 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $677,623,000 after acquiring an additional 3,519,370 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of WMB opened at $58.84 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market cap of $71.75 billion, a PE ratio of 29.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.65. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $44.51 and a 1-year high of $63.45. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $58.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.44.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last posted 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). 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.43 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Williams Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.010-2.190 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

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 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 100.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMB has been the topic of several research reports. Scotiabank upped their target price on Williams Companies from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wolfe Research raised Williams Companies from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th. CIBC raised Williams Companies from a "neutral" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and set a $64.00 price target 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. Finally, TD Cowen started coverage on Williams Companies in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $67.00 price target on the stock. 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $62.86.

Insider Activity

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.62, for a total transaction of $115,240.00. Following 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares of the company'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 transaction, the chief operating officer owned 77,612 shares in the company, 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 10,500 shares of company stock worth $623,115 over the last 90 days. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.

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