Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB Position Lowered by Hsbc Holdings PLC

Key Points

• Hsbc Holdings PLC reduced its stake in Williams Companies, Inc. by 5.1%, selling 144,230 shares to hold approximately 0.22% of the company, valued at around $158.99 million.
• Analyst ratings for Williams Companies are positive, with one "Strong Buy", ten "Buy", and five "Hold" ratings, leading to a consensus target price of $62.86.
• The company reported a quarterly EPS of $0.46, slightly missing expectations, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, yielding approximately 3.5%.

Hsbc Holdings PLC decreased its stake in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 5.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,662,992 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 144,230 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned about 0.22% of Williams Companies worth $158,986,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its holdings in Williams Companies by 1.2% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 577,123 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $34,489,000 after acquiring an additional 6,816 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Williams Companies by 27.5% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 402,967 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $24,081,000 after acquiring an additional 87,031 shares during the last quarter. Kessler Investment Group LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies in the first quarter worth about $327,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Williams Companies by 14.0% in the first quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 85,839 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $5,130,000 after acquiring an additional 10,561 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Good Steward Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies in the first quarter worth about $977,000. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMB has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Argus reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $66.00 target price on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $67.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams Companies currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $62.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.68, for a total transaction of $119,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 313,645 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,718,333.60. This trade represents a 0.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.47, for a total transaction of $263,115.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 77,612 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,537,973.64. The trade was 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 valued at $507,875 over the last 90 days. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Williams Companies Price Performance

NYSE WMB opened at $56.5110 on Wednesday. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $43.96 and a 12 month high of $63.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.91 billion, a PE ratio of 28.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.66. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $58.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $58.30.

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 analysts' consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.43 EPS. Williams Companies's revenue was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Williams Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.010-2.190 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.

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