Strs Ohio Sells 16,086 Shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Key Points

• Strs Ohio reduced its Williams Companies stake by 5.8% in the first quarter, selling 16,086 shares and leaving it with 259,901 shares valued at about $18.9 million.
• Insider selling has also been notable, with CFO John Dean Porter and SVP Glen G. Jasek among those who sold shares; insiders have sold 68,500 shares worth about $5.18 million over the last 90 days.
• Williams Companies reported strong quarterly earnings of $0.73 per share, beating estimates, and it recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, implying an annualized yield of 2.9%.

Strs Ohio lessened its holdings in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 5.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 259,901 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 16,086 shares during the period. Strs Ohio's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $18,916,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Towne Trust Company N.A raised its holdings in Williams Companies by 60.2% during the fourth quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 431 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Clearstead Trust LLC boosted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 62.2% during the 4th quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 485 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, First Command Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 216.8% during the 4th quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 491 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In related news, CFO John Dean Porter sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.37, for a total transaction of $3,768,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 196,567 shares in the company, valued at $14,815,254.79. This represents a 20.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Glen G. Jasek sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.15, for a total transaction of $195,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 54,101 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,227,993.15. This trade represents a 4.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 68,500 shares of company stock worth $5,182,655. 0.47% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMB opened at $73.09 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $74.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $70.23. Williams Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $55.82 and a twelve month high of $80.07. The company has a market cap of $89.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.06, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.10. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 18.34% and a net margin of 23.39%.The company had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.60 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.380 EPS. Research analysts predict that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 29th. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 12th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. Williams Companies's payout ratio is 92.11%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WMB. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Williams Companies from $78.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. They set a "buy" rating and a $84.00 price objective for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Williams Companies from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $82.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $82.94.

Williams Companies Profile

Williams Companies, Inc NYSE: WMB is a U.S.-based energy infrastructure company focused on the midstream segment of the natural gas value chain. The company develops, owns and operates assets that gather, process, transport and store natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGLs). Its operations support the movement of gas from production areas to end users including utilities, power generators, industrial customers and export facilities.

Williams’s product and service offering includes interstate and intrastate pipeline transmission, gas-gathering systems, processing facilities that remove impurities and separate NGLs, storage services and fractionation and transportation of NGL products.

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