Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Decreases Stock Holdings in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA trimmed its position in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) by 0.8% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 4,066,609 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 32,472 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $295,965,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Towne Trust Company N.A increased its holdings in Williams Companies by 60.2% during the 4th quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 431 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Clearstead Trust LLC grew its position in shares of Williams Companies by 62.2% in the 4th quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 485 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, WHI TRUST Co LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Williams Companies Trading Up 0.6%

NYSE WMB opened at $78.00 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $95.28 billion, a PE ratio of 34.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.58. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $73.82 and its 200 day moving average is $69.78. Williams Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $55.82 and a twelve month high of $80.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99.

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

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 29th. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th will be paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 92.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In related news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.35, for a total transaction of $152,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 287,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,924,589.65. This trade represents a 0.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $7,511,789.12. The trade was a 10.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 68,500 shares of company stock valued at $5,177,835 in the last quarter. 0.47% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on WMB shares. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperformer” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Williams Companies from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.40.

Williams Companies Profile

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.