Trexquant Investment LP Has $17.50 Million Stake in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Key Points

• Trexquant Investment LP significantly increased its stake in Williams Companies, purchasing an additional 189,766 shares to boost its total holdings to 292,834 shares, valued at approximately $17.5 million.
• Recent analyst activity includes CIBC upgrading Williams Companies to "sector outperform" with a price target of $64, while Wells Fargo raised its target to $70.
• Williams Companies announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50, resulting in a 3.4% dividend yield, with the ex-dividend date set for September 12th.

Trexquant Investment LP grew its position in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 184.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 292,834 shares of the pipeline company's stock after purchasing an additional 189,766 shares during the quarter. Trexquant Investment LP's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $17,500,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Menard Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 4,490.9% in the 1st quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 505 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 494 shares during the last quarter. Abound Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 1st quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 1st quarter worth $32,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.68, for a total value of $119,360.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 313,645 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,718,333.60. This represents a 0.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief operating officer owned 77,612 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,537,973.64. This represents a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 8,500 shares of company stock worth $507,875 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Cibc World Mkts upgraded Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Barclays raised their target price on Williams Companies from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Williams Companies in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $67.00 target price for the company. Finally, Argus reissued a "buy" rating and set a $66.00 price objective on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $62.86.

Williams Companies Stock Down 0.2%

WMB traded down $0.12 during trading on Friday, reaching $57.88. 4,093,394 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,652,738. Williams Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $43.98 and a fifty-two week high of $63.45. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $58.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $58.39. The stock has a market cap of $70.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.65. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.46 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.43 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. Williams Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.010-2.190 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

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

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.