Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB Shares Sold by Rafferty Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in Williams Companies by 16.7%, now owning 225,913 shares worth approximately $13.5 million after selling 45,373 shares in the first quarter.
• Williams Companies reported a miss in earnings for the quarter, with EPS of $0.46 against estimates of $0.49, while revenue of $2.78 billion fell short of the $2.90 billion forecast.
• The company announced a $0.50 quarterly dividend with a yield of 3.5%, to be paid to investors of record on September 12th, reflecting a payout ratio of 100.50%.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 16.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 225,913 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 45,373 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $13,501,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,889 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $968,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Castleview Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 4.2% in the first quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 4,492 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $268,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Napa Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Napa Wealth Management now owns 7,190 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $389,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP lifted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 1.2% in the first quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 16,712 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $999,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Perkins Coie Trust Co lifted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 13.3% in the first quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 1,700 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $102,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 313,645 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,718,333.60. This trade represents a 0.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.47, for a total value of $263,115.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 77,612 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,537,973.64. This trade represents a 5.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 8,500 shares of company stock valued at $507,875. 0.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Williams Companies Trading Down 0.2%

WMB stock traded down $0.12 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $57.88. 4,093,394 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,839,793. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $58.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.58 billion, a PE ratio of 29.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.66. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $43.98 and a 1-year 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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 16.23% and a net margin of 21.63%.Williams Companies's revenue was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.43 EPS. Williams Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.010-2.190 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 100.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMB has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Williams Companies from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Williams Companies in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $67.00 price objective on the stock. Cibc World Mkts upgraded Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Williams Companies has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $62.86.

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.