Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB Shares Purchased by Sciencast Management LP

Key Points

• Sciencast Management LP boosted its stake in Williams Companies by 55.8%, acquiring 21,373 additional shares, totaling 59,700 shares valued at approximately $3.57 million.
• Insider transactions revealed that the COO, Larry C. Larsen, sold 4,500 shares, reducing his holdings by 5.48%, while the SVP, Terrance Lane Wilson, sold 2,000 shares, marking a 0.63% decrease in his ownership.
• Williams Companies reported a quarterly earnings miss with earnings per share of $0.46, below the consensus estimate of $0.49, and a revenue of $2.78 billion, falling short of the expected $2.90 billion.

Sciencast Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 55.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 59,700 shares of the pipeline company's stock after acquiring an additional 21,373 shares during the quarter. Williams Companies comprises 0.8% of Sciencast Management LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Sciencast Management LP's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $3,568,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WMB. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Williams Companies by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,889 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $968,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Castleview Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Williams Companies by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 4,492 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $268,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in Williams Companies by 20.3% in the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,095 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Napa Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Williams Companies by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Napa Wealth Management now owns 7,190 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $389,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirador Capital Partners LP boosted its holdings in Williams Companies by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 16,712 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $999,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In related news, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares of the company's 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 sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 77,612 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,537,973.64. This represents a 5.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.68, for a total transaction of $119,360.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 313,645 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,718,333.60. The trade was a 0.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 8,500 shares of company stock worth $507,875. 0.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of WMB opened at $57.14 on Monday. Williams Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $43.98 and a fifty-two week high of $63.45. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $58.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $58.39. The company has a market cap of $69.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.71, a PEG ratio of 1.91 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 return on equity of 16.23% and a net margin of 21.63%.The business had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.43 earnings per share. Williams Companies'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. On average, research analysts forecast that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

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 paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 100.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMB has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Argus reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $66.00 target price on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. CIBC upgraded shares of Williams Companies from a "neutral" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and set a $64.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, August 15th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Williams Companies from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $62.86.

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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