Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB Shares Sold by Aviva PLC

Aviva PLC lessened its holdings in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) by 3.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,425,206 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 44,607 shares during the quarter. Aviva PLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $89,517,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WMB. Flaharty Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its stake in Williams Companies by 104.8% during the 2nd quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 469 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new position in Williams Companies during the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC increased 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 worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 494 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Williams Companies from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Williams Companies from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, October 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.47, for a total transaction of $263,115.00. Following the sale, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.62, for a total transaction of $115,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 311,645 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,956,984.90. The trade was a 0.64% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Stock Up 2.7%

WMB stock opened at $59.53 on Friday. 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 firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $60.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.41. The stock has a market cap of $72.59 billion, a PE ratio of 29.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.63. Williams Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $51.58 and a fifty-two week high of $65.55.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The pipeline company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.87 billion. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 16.23% and a net margin of 21.63%.Williams Companies’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.43 EPS. Williams Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.010-2.190 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is presently 103.09%.

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.