The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Cuts Stake in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company cut its Williams Companies stake by 8.8% in the first quarter, selling 102,573 shares and retaining 1.07 million shares valued at approximately $77.8 million. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Buy” rating with an average price target of $83.56, above the reported $70.13 share price. Williams also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, equivalent to a 3.0% annualized yield.
• Company insiders sold 68,500 shares worth approximately $5.18 million over the past three months, while some analysts caution that the stock may be fully valued after gaining roughly 257% over five years.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its position in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 8.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,069,327 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 102,573 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.09% of Williams Companies worth $77,826,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Towne Trust Company N.A raised its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 60.2% in the 4th quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 431 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Main Street Group LTD purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Clearstead Trust LLC lifted its holdings in Williams Companies by 62.2% during the fourth quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 485 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the period. Finally, Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Williams Companies News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Williams Companies this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts have set an average price target of $83.56, above recent trading levels, suggesting potential upside as investor sentiment remains constructive. Analysts Set Williams Companies Price Target at $83.56
• Positive Sentiment: Williams declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.525 per share, payable September 28 to shareholders of record September 11. The dividend equates to approximately $2.10 annually and a yield near 3%, reinforcing the stock’s appeal to income-focused investors. Williams Announces Quarterly Cash Dividend
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street expects higher year-over-year revenue and earnings for the quarter scheduled to be reported August 3. Williams currently has an Earnings ESP of 7.95%, indicating that the most accurate analyst estimate is above the broader consensus and raising the possibility of an earnings beat. Williams Companies Draws Earnings Optimism
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are evaluating whether Williams’ focus on natural-gas infrastructure and contracted cash flows can sustain long-term growth. Broader midstream-sector analysis highlights durable free-cash-flow generation, which supports dividends and potential buybacks. Midstream and MLPs Deliver Durable Free Cash Flow
• Negative Sentiment: After gaining approximately 257% over five years, Williams shares are viewed by some analysts as fully valued or expensive. The recent pullback has increased concern that much of the company’s success and future growth may already be reflected in the stock price, potentially limiting upside without strong earnings or guidance. Williams Stock Looks Fully Valued

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.16, for a total value of $148,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 283,159 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,999,071.44. The trade was a 0.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO John Dean Porter sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.37, for a total value of $3,768,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 196,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,815,254.79. This represents a 20.28% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 68,500 shares of company stock valued at $5,182,655 in the last three months. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on WMB shares. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $78.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upped their price target on Williams Companies from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "outperformer" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $83.56.

Williams Companies Stock Down 0.0%

WMB stock opened at $70.13 on Thursday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $73.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $72.09. The company has a market capitalization of $85.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $55.82 and a 12 month high of $80.07.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.28 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 23.39% and a return on equity of 18.34%. The firm's revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.60 earnings per share. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.380 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 92.11%.

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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