Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB Shares Sold by Credit Agricole S A

Key Points

• Credit Agricole S A decreased its holdings in Williams Companies by 8.4%, selling 37,337 shares, which now values their ownership at approximately $24.47 million.
• Williams Companies reported earnings per share of $0.46 for the last quarter, missing estimates by $0.03, while quarterly revenue increased by 19% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, set to be paid on September 29th, with a 3.5% dividend yield based on the current payout ratio of 100.50%.

Credit Agricole S A reduced its stake in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 8.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 409,504 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 37,337 shares during the quarter. Credit Agricole S A's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $24,472,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Menard Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Williams Companies by 4,490.9% in the 1st quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 505 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 494 shares during the last quarter. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on WMB shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Argus reissued a "buy" rating and set a $66.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Williams Companies from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th. CIBC raised shares of Williams Companies from a "neutral" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and set a $64.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Cibc World Mkts raised shares of Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $62.86.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMB traded down $0.8110 during trading on Friday, hitting $56.9890. 4,663,233 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,865,747. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73. The company has a market cap of $69.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $58.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $58.31. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $43.98 and a 52-week high of $63.45.

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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.90 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 16.23%. Williams Companies's revenue for the quarter was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.43 earnings per share. Williams Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.010-2.190 EPS. As a group, equities 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 issued 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 payout ratio is 100.50%.

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.