Columbus Macro LLC Acquires 16,512 Shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Columbus Macro LLC raised its holdings in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) by 11.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 155,655 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,512 shares during the quarter. Williams Companies comprises approximately 1.2% of Columbus Macro LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Columbus Macro LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $9,777,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 40.9% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 13,680 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $740,000 after purchasing an additional 3,969 shares during the period. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the first quarter worth $357,000. OLD National Bancorp IN increased its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 17.9% in the first quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 6,343 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $379,000 after purchasing an additional 965 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. increased its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 14.5% in the first quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 12,068 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $721,000 after purchasing an additional 1,526 shares during the period. Finally, Daymark Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the first quarter worth $332,000. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

NYSE WMB opened at $63.49 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $59.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $48.71 and a 12-month high of $65.55. The firm has a market cap of $77.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.90, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.65.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last posted its quarterly 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). Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 16.23%. The business had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.43 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. Williams Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.010-2.190 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 12th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 12th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 100.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WMB. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Friday, September 19th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $66.00 price target on the stock. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Williams Companies from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Williams Companies presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.53.

Insider Activity

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $17,956,984.90. This represents a 0.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.47, for a total transaction of $263,115.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 77,612 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,537,973.64. This represents a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 8,500 shares of company stock valued at $497,715. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

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.