Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB Shares Acquired by Machina Capital S.A.S.

Machina Capital S.A.S. lifted its stake in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) by 14.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,532 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,325 shares during the quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S.’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $1,164,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Flaharty Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Williams Companies during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC grew its position in shares of Williams Companies by 104.8% during the second quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 469 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $30,000 after buying an additional 494 shares during the period. Finally, Abound Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of WMB opened at $59.04 on Tuesday. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $51.48 and a 1-year high of $65.55. The stock has a market cap of $71.99 billion, a PE ratio of 29.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 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. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $60.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $59.41.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 3rd. The pipeline company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.02). Williams Companies had a return on equity of 16.23% and a net margin of 21.63%.During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.43 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. Williams Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.010-2.190 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 29th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 100.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on WMB shares. Scotiabank boosted 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 raised shares of Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Wall Street Zen lowered Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, October 4th. Zacks Research cut Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Williams Companies from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.50.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In other news, 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 transaction of $115,240.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 311,645 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 accessible through this link. Also, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief operating officer owned 77,612 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,537,973.64. This trade represents a 5.48% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies 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.