Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Makes New Investment in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 80,551 shares of the pipeline company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,059,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMB. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies during the 1st quarter worth about $335,419,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings 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 worth $677,623,000 after purchasing an additional 3,519,370 shares in the last quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 34.0% in the 1st quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 11,287,921 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $674,566,000 after acquiring an additional 2,861,988 shares in the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 275.7% in 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 acquiring an additional 1,914,730 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 6.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 1,680,477 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WMB. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Williams Companies from $70.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. TD Cowen began coverage on Williams Companies in a report on Monday, July 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $67.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Williams Companies from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Williams Companies from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Cibc World Mkts upgraded Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.73.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of Williams Companies 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 311,645 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,956,984.90. This trade represents a 0.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.47, for a total transaction of $263,115.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 77,612 shares in the company, valued at $4,537,973.64. This trade represents a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 8,500 shares of company stock worth $497,715 over the last three months. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMB opened at $57.58 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $60.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.48. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $51.46 and a 1 year high of $65.55.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) 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 the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 16.23%. The business’s revenue was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.43 earnings per share. Williams Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.010-2.190 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.