Vaughan David Investments LLC IL Decreases Position in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Vaughan David Investments LLC IL lowered its stake in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 955,924 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 22,858 shares during the quarter. Williams Companies accounts for 1.2% of Vaughan David Investments LLC IL’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $57,461,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Towne Trust Company N.A increased its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 60.2% during the 4th quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 431 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC increased its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 62.2% during the 4th quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 485 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 216.8% during the 4th quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 491 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. WHI TRUST Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:WMB opened at $71.66 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $73.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $68.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Williams Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $55.82 and a one year high of $80.07. The company has a market cap of $87.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.43, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.58.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.10. Williams Companies had a net margin of 23.39% and a return on equity of 18.34%. The firm had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.28 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.380 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 12th. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is currently 92.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMB has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $78.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $82.40.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In other news, SVP Glen G. Jasek sold 2,500 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.15, for a total transaction of $195,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 54,101 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,227,993.15. The trade was a 4.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 12,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.48, for a total transaction of $917,760.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 98,219 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,511,789.12. This represents a 10.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 68,500 shares of company stock valued at $5,177,835. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Williams Companies

Williams Companies, Inc (NYSE: WMB) is a U.S.-based energy infrastructure company focused on the midstream segment of the natural gas value chain. The company develops, owns and operates assets that gather, process, transport and store natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGLs). Its operations support the movement of gas from production areas to end users including utilities, power generators, industrial customers and export facilities.

Williams’s product and service offering includes interstate and intrastate pipeline transmission, gas-gathering systems, processing facilities that remove impurities and separate NGLs, storage services and fractionation and transportation of NGL products.