IFP Advisors Inc Cuts Stake in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

IFP Advisors Inc trimmed its position in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) by 20.6% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 23,360 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 6,065 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $1,481,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WMB. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Williams Companies during the 1st quarter valued at about $335,419,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Williams Companies by 45.0% during the 1st 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 last quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. grew its position in Williams Companies by 34.0% during the 1st 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 last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC grew its position in Williams Companies by 275.7% during the 1st 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 last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Williams Companies by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 29,624,104 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,770,336,000 after purchasing an additional 1,680,477 shares during the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on WMB. Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $63.00 target price on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams Companies has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $65.94.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In related news, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.47, for a total value of $263,115.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 77,612 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,537,973.64. This represents a 5.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. This represents a 0.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 8,500 shares of company stock worth $497,715 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMB opened at $62.60 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $59.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.07. Williams Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $49.30 and a twelve month high of $65.55. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $76.33 billion, a PE ratio of 31.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.65.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.46 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.43 EPS. Williams Companies’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. Williams Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.010-2.190 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

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