Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB Shares Purchased by Asset Management One Co. Ltd.

Key Points

• Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Williams Companies by 3.0%, owning 563,698 shares valued at approximately $35.4 million after acquiring an additional 16,503 shares during the second quarter.
• Williams Companies reported earnings of $0.46 per share for the last quarter, missing estimates by $0.03, with quarterly revenue of $2.78 billion, compared to an expected $2.90 billion.
• Analysts have a consensus price target of $66.73 for Williams Companies, with several firms upgrading their ratings and price targets recently.

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 563,698 shares of the pipeline company's stock after buying an additional 16,503 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $35,406,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMB. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the first quarter worth $335,419,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 45.0% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 11,339,078 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $677,623,000 after purchasing an additional 3,519,370 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 34.0% during the first quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 11,287,921 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $674,566,000 after purchasing an additional 2,861,988 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 275.7% during the first quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 2,609,318 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $155,933,000 after purchasing an additional 1,914,730 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 6.0% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,680,477 shares during the period. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams Companies Trading Down 2.4%

Shares of WMB stock opened at $57.50 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $60.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $59.32. Williams Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $51.46 and a fifty-two week high of $65.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.46 earnings per share 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $0.43 EPS. The company's quarterly 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. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.62, for a total value of $115,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 311,645 shares in the company, valued at $17,956,984.90. This trade represents a 0.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 8,500 shares of company stock valued at $497,715 in the last quarter. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. CIBC raised Williams Companies from a "neutral" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and set a $64.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, August 15th. Barclays raised their price target on Williams Companies from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Williams Companies in a report on Thursday, October 9th. They set a "buy" rating and a $72.00 price target on the stock. Argus reissued a "buy" rating and set a $66.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their target price on Williams Companies from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams Companies presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $66.73.

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.

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