Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB Shares Acquired by Mediolanum International Funds Ltd

Key Points

• Mediolanum International Funds Ltd sharply increased its stake in Williams Companies, boosting holdings by 688.5% in the first quarter to 479,126 shares worth about $34.7 million.
• Several other institutional investors also added to or initiated positions, and 86.44% of Williams Companies is now owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
• The company reported Q1 EPS of $0.73, topping estimates, while analysts remain largely bullish with an average "Buy" rating and a consensus price target of $83.56.

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd lifted its position in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 688.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 479,126 shares of the pipeline company's stock after buying an additional 418,365 shares during the quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $34,722,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH purchased a new stake in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $4,627,000. Gabelli Funds LLC raised its stake in Williams Companies by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 261,000 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $15,689,000 after buying an additional 17,900 shares in the last quarter. SIR Capital Management L.P. raised its stake in Williams Companies by 40.0% in the fourth quarter. SIR Capital Management L.P. now owns 525,232 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $31,572,000 after buying an additional 150,032 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Williams Companies by 21.0% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,105,570 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $125,839,000 after buying an additional 365,546 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stephens Inc. AR boosted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 164,900 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $9,912,000 after acquiring an additional 13,438 shares in the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In related news, CFO John Dean Porter sold 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.37, for a total transaction of $3,768,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 196,567 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,815,254.79. This trade represents a 20.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 12,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.48, for a total value of $917,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 98,219 shares in the company, valued at $7,511,789.12. This trade represents a 10.89% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 68,500 shares of company stock valued at $5,182,655 over the last ninety days. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WMB. Scotiabank raised their target price on Williams Companies from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $88.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. They set a "buy" rating and a $84.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Four equities research 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $83.56.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of WMB opened at $73.34 on Friday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $74.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $71.32. The firm has a market cap of $89.60 billion, a PE ratio of 32.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.57. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $55.82 and a 12-month high of $80.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last released 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 firm had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.28 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 23.39% and a return on equity of 18.34%. Williams Companies's revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.380 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.43 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 12th were paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 currently 92.11%.

Williams Companies Company 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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