Compound Planning Inc. Raises Stock Position in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Key Points

• Compound Planning Inc. increased its stake in Williams Companies by 32.2% during the first quarter, holding 23,158 shares valued at approximately $1.38 million.
• The company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the last quarter, missing estimates and generating revenue of $2.78 billion, although this marked a 19% year-over-year increase.
• A quarterly dividend of $0.50 will be paid on September 29, representing an annualized yield of 3.5% and a payout ratio of 100.50%.

Compound Planning Inc. lifted its position in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 32.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,158 shares of the pipeline company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,647 shares during the period. Compound Planning Inc.'s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $1,384,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 131,163,184 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $7,838,312,000 after purchasing an additional 807,019 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Williams Companies by 6.0% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 29,624,104 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,770,336,000 after acquiring an additional 1,680,477 shares in the last quarter. Blackstone Inc. boosted its stake in Williams Companies by 36.5% in the fourth quarter. Blackstone Inc. now owns 18,954,088 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,025,795,000 after acquiring an additional 5,068,738 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in Williams Companies by 5.6% in the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 17,520,491 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,047,025,000 after acquiring an additional 932,998 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Williams Companies by 0.4% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 15,291,842 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $913,840,000 after acquiring an additional 54,902 shares in the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Williams Companies news, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 trade represents a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 8,500 shares of company stock worth $507,875. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of WMB stock traded up $0.39 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $57.52. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,909,429 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,677,917. The business has a fifty day moving average of $58.69 and a 200-day moving average of $58.34. The stock has a market cap of $70.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.66. Williams Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $43.98 and a twelve month high of $63.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 16.23%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.43 earnings per share. Williams Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.010-2.190 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on WMB shares. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $63.00 price objective on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $67.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Williams Companies from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $62.86.

About Williams Companies

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.