Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB Stake Lowered by V Square Quantitative Management LLC

Key Points

• V Square Quantitative Management cut its Williams Companies stake by 69.2% in the third quarter, leaving the fund with 7,269 shares valued at approximately $494,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 86.44% of WMB.
• Williams reported quarterly revenue of $3.05 billion, up 9.8% year over year, while adjusted earnings of $0.50 per share matched analyst expectations. The company also maintains a $2.10 annualized dividend, yielding about 2.9%.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with the stock carrying a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $86.24, above its reported market price of $71.34. However, company insiders sold 19,000 shares worth approximately $1.4 million over the past 90 days.

V Square Quantitative Management LLC lowered its holdings in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 69.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,269 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 16,335 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $494,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WMB. Apella Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 5,988 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $450,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 56.3% during the 2nd quarter. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC now owns 386 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP grew its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 0.9% during the second quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 16,153 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,201,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Aletheian Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Williams Companies by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Aletheian Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,830 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $285,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 5.2% in the second quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 2,986 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $222,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Terrance Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.85, for a total transaction of $135,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 262,259 shares in the company, valued at $17,794,273.15. The trade was a 0.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 19,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,401,430 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.47% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Price Performance

WMB stock opened at $71.34 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 0.48 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The company's 50-day moving average is $72.38 and its 200-day moving average is $73.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.26 billion, a PE ratio of 28.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.64. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $56.19 and a 1 year high of $80.07.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The pipeline company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 18.49% and a net margin of 25.17%. The business had revenue of $3.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.83 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.46 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.350-2.350 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th were paid a $0.5250 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 11th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 83.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on WMB shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $99.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on Williams Companies in a report on Thursday, September 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $85.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Monday, September 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Williams Companies from $85.00 to $83.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $86.24.

Williams Companies Company Profile

The Williams Companies, Inc is an energy infrastructure company headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Founded in 1908 as Williams Brothers, the company has evolved from an early pipeline contractor into a major operator of natural gas infrastructure in the United States.

Williams primarily gathers, processes, transports and stores natural gas and natural gas liquids. Its assets include interstate and regional pipelines, gas processing and fractionation facilities, storage operations, and gathering systems that connect producers with utilities, industrial customers, power generators and other energy markets.

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