WBI Investments LLC Makes New Investment in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Key Points

• WBI Investments LLC invested $323,000 in Williams Companies, acquiring 5,403 shares, as per their recent SEC filing.
• Williams Companies has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50, set to be paid on September 29th, with an annualized yield of 3.4%.
• Despite reporting lower-than-expected earnings of $0.46 per share, Williams Companies' revenue increased by 19% year-over-year to $2.78 billion for the most recent quarter.

WBI Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 5,403 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $323,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Flaharty Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Menard Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Williams Companies by 4,490.9% during the first quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 505 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 494 shares during the period. 86.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMB has been the topic of several research reports. Wolfe Research raised shares of Williams Companies from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $67.00 target price for the company. Finally, Argus restated a "buy" rating and issued a $66.00 target price on shares of Williams Companies in a research note 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $62.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.62, for a total transaction of $115,240.00. Following the completion of 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 SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.47, for a total transaction of $263,115.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 77,612 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 10,500 shares of company stock valued at $623,115 over the last 90 days. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMB traded down $0.49 on Friday, hitting $58.84. 5,630,379 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,478,224. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $44.51 and a 1-year high of $63.45. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $58.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $58.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.65.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last posted 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 return on equity of 16.23% and a net margin of 21.63%.The company had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.43 earnings per share. The company's quarterly 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. Sell-side analysts predict that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. Williams Companies's payout ratio is currently 100.50%.

Williams Companies 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.