Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) COO Sells $917,760.00 in Stock

Key Points

• Williams Companies COO Larry Larsen sold 12,000 shares on May 14 at an average price of $76.48, generating about $917,760. After the sale, he still held 98,219 shares.
• The company reported stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings of $0.73 per share versus the $0.63 consensus estimate, though revenue of $3.03 billion came in below expectations. Williams also reaffirmed FY 2026 guidance of 2.20 to 2.38 EPS.
• Williams Companies declared a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, payable June 29, implying a 2.7% annualized yield. Analysts remain generally bullish, with a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $80.47.

Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) COO Larry Larsen sold 12,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.48, for a total transaction of $917,760.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 98,219 shares in the company, valued at $7,511,789.12. The trade was a 10.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Williams Companies Price Performance

WMB traded down $0.43 on Friday, hitting $77.26. 2,010,032 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,884,929. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.83. The business's fifty day moving average is $73.19 and its 200 day moving average is $66.65. Williams Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $55.82 and a fifty-two week high of $78.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $94.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.61.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.10. Williams Companies had a net margin of 23.39% and a return on equity of 18.34%. The company had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.60 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.380 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.37 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be given a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 92.11%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams Companies

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WMB. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,540,556 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $287,644,000 after acquiring an additional 134,777 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 184,123 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $11,664,000 after acquiring an additional 16,027 shares during the period. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $4,627,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 75.9% in the 3rd quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC now owns 125,290 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $7,937,000 after acquiring an additional 54,057 shares during the period. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp raised its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 3,344.8% in the 3rd quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 17,465 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,106,000 after acquiring an additional 16,958 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on WMB shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Williams Companies from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $80.47.

Williams Companies Company Profile

Williams Companies, Inc NYSE: WMB is a U.S.-based energy infrastructure company focused on the midstream segment of the natural gas value chain. The company develops, owns and operates assets that gather, process, transport and store natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGLs). Its operations support the movement of gas from production areas to end users including utilities, power generators, industrial customers and export facilities.

Williams’s product and service offering includes interstate and intrastate pipeline transmission, gas-gathering systems, processing facilities that remove impurities and separate NGLs, storage services and fractionation and transportation of NGL products.

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