Linscomb Wealth Inc. Grows Stake in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Linscomb Wealth Inc. raised its stake in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 185,565 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,081 shares during the quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc.’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $11,655,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMB. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Williams Companies in the first quarter valued at about $335,419,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in Williams Companies by 45.0% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 11,339,078 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $677,623,000 after purchasing an additional 3,519,370 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. raised its position in Williams Companies by 34.0% in the first quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 11,287,921 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $674,566,000 after purchasing an additional 2,861,988 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC raised its position in Williams Companies by 275.7% in the first quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 2,609,318 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $155,933,000 after purchasing an additional 1,914,730 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Williams Companies by 6.0% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 29,624,104 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,770,336,000 after acquiring an additional 1,680,477 shares during the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of WMB opened at $57.63 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $60.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $59.39. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $51.48 and a 12-month high of $65.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.27 billion, a PE ratio of 28.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.48.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 16.23% and a net margin of 21.63%.The firm had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.43 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Williams Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.010-2.190 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is presently 100.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Williams Companies news, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 77,612 shares in the company, valued at $4,537,973.64. The trade was a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.62, for a total value of $115,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 311,645 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,956,984.90. The trade was a 0.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMB has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Williams Companies in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $67.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Williams Companies in a research report on Friday, September 19th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $66.00 target price on the stock. Scotiabank lifted their target price 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. Barclays lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Williams Companies in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $72.00 target price on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.73.

Williams Companies Company 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.