R Squared Ltd Buys Shares of 18,351 Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Key Points

• R Squared Ltd has acquired 18,351 shares of Williams Companies, valued at approximately $1.15 million, indicating a growing interest from institutional investors in the pipeline sector.
• Williams Companies reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.46, missing estimates by $0.03, with quarterly revenue of $2.78 billion, which was below analyst expectations.
• The company declared a new quarterly $0.50 per share dividend, reflecting a 3.4% yield, although its payout ratio currently stands at 100.50%.

R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 18,351 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $1,153,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Flaharty Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Saudi Central Bank bought a new stake in Williams Companies in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its stake in Williams Companies by 104.8% in the 2nd quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 469 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the period. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Abound Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WMB. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Thursday, October 9th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $72.00 price objective on the stock. CIBC upgraded shares of Williams Companies from a "neutral" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and set a $64.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, August 15th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $66.73.

Williams Companies Stock Down 5.3%

Williams Companies stock opened at $58.88 on Friday. Williams Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $51.46 and a fifty-two week high of $65.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.80 billion, a PE ratio of 29.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.65. The company's 50-day moving average is $60.26 and its 200-day moving average is $59.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.48.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.03). The business 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 quarterly revenue was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.43 EPS. Williams Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.010-2.190 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 12th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 12th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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 value of $115,240.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 311,645 shares in the company, valued at $17,956,984.90. The trade was a 0.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief operating officer directly 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 8,500 shares of company stock valued at $497,715. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

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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