Comerica Bank Cuts Stake in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Key Points

• Comerica Bank reduced its stake in Williams Companies, Inc. by 5.8%, selling 25,706 shares and now holds 416,631 shares valued at approximately $24.9 million.
• The company reported Q2 earnings of $0.46 per share, missing analyst estimates by $0.03, with a revenue of $2.78 billion, below expectations of $2.90 billion.
• Williams Companies announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, reflecting an annual yield of 3.5%, with a payout ratio currently at 100.50%.

Comerica Bank lowered its stake in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 5.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 416,631 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 25,706 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $24,898,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMB. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 1.2% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 577,123 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $34,489,000 after buying an additional 6,816 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 27.5% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Kessler Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in Williams Companies during the first quarter valued at approximately $327,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake 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 valued at $5,130,000 after acquiring an additional 10,561 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Good Steward Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Williams Companies in the first quarter worth $977,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 313,645 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,718,333.60. This represents a 0.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares of the firm'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 value of $263,115.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 77,612 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 a total of 8,500 shares of company stock worth $507,875 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $63.00 price objective on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Argus reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $66.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Wolfe Research upgraded Williams Companies from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Williams Companies presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $62.86.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Williams Companies stock traded up $0.39 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $57.52. The company had a trading volume of 5,909,783 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,979,019. The company has a market capitalization of $70.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.66. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $43.98 and a 12-month high of $63.45. The company's fifty day moving average is $58.65 and its 200-day moving average is $58.33. 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 posted its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.43 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. Williams Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.010-2.190 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders 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 dividend 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%.

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.