Panagora Asset Management Inc. Acquires 1,060,632 Shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Key Points

• Panagora Asset Management Inc. significantly increased its stake in Williams Companies by 688.5%, owning over $72 million worth of shares by the end of the first quarter.
• Williams Companies has recently experienced several insider sales, with executives selling a total of 8,500 shares valued at approximately $508,000 over the last quarter.
• Analysts are optimistic about Williams Companies, with multiple firms raising their price targets, and the stock currently holds a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 688.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,214,681 shares of the pipeline company's stock after buying an additional 1,060,632 shares during the quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 0.10% of Williams Companies worth $72,589,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WMB. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the first quarter worth $335,419,000. Blackstone Inc. increased its stake in Williams Companies by 36.5% in the 4th quarter. Blackstone Inc. now owns 18,954,088 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,025,795,000 after acquiring an additional 5,068,738 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. boosted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 34.0% during the 1st quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 11,287,921 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $674,566,000 after acquiring an additional 2,861,988 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 6,407.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,238,490 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $133,772,000 after purchasing an additional 2,204,090 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In related news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the company'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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 313,645 shares in the company, valued at $18,718,333.60. This represents a 0.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.47, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 5.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 8,500 shares of company stock worth $507,875. 0.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on WMB. 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. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Argus reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $66.00 price objective on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Williams Companies from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, 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. 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $62.86.

Williams Companies Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:WMB traded down $0.56 on Tuesday, reaching $57.32. 7,832,220 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,654,961. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.65. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $58.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $58.40. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $43.98 and a 52 week high of $63.45.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.03). Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 16.23%. The company had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.43 earnings per share. The company's revenue 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, equities analysts anticipate that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

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

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.