Ritholtz Wealth Management Boosts Stake in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Key Points

• Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its stake in Williams Companies by 35.6%, owning 21,371 shares worth approximately $1.34 million after acquiring an additional 5,609 shares in the second quarter.
• Williams Companies reported a net margin of 21.63% for the last quarter, but fell short of revenue expectations, with $2.78 billion reported compared to a consensus of $2.90 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, with a dividend yield of 3.2% and a payout ratio of 100.50%.

Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its stake in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 35.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 21,371 shares of the pipeline company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,609 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $1,342,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 131,163,184 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $7,838,312,000 after purchasing an additional 807,019 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 6.0% in the 1st 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 stake in shares of Williams Companies by 5.6% in the 1st 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 stake in shares of Williams Companies by 0.4% in the 1st 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 stake 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 worth $677,623,000 after purchasing an additional 3,519,370 shares in the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams Companies Stock Down 0.2%

WMB opened at $62.39 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $59.18. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $51.34 and a 52 week high of $65.55. The company has a market capitalization of $76.08 billion, a PE ratio of 31.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.65. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.46 EPS 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 the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.43 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. Williams Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.010-2.190 EPS. Analysts forecast that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 12th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is 100.50%.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 value of $263,115.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 this hyperlink. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of Williams Companies 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 311,645 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,956,984.90. This represents a 0.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 8,500 shares of company stock valued at $497,715 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Cibc World Mkts raised shares of Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. CIBC raised 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. Argus reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $66.00 target price on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $70.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, October 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $66.73.

Williams Companies Company 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WMB? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.