Venturi Wealth Management LLC Sells 1,489 Shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Venturi Wealth Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) by 6.6% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 20,982 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 1,489 shares during the quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $1,318,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Flaharty Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Williams Companies in the first quarter worth about $25,000. HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in Williams Companies during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Saudi Central Bank bought a new stake in Williams Companies during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Williams Companies by 4,490.9% during the first quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 505 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 494 shares during the period. Finally, Abound Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMB has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 4th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Williams Companies from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.53.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s 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 directly owned 77,612 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,537,973.64. This trade represents a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 311,645 shares in the company, 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 can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 8,500 shares of company stock worth $497,715. 0.44% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Williams Companies Trading Down 0.8%

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

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 16.23%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.43 earnings per share. Williams Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.010-2.190 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 12th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 12th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 100.50%.

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.