Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB Shares Purchased by Mediolanum International Funds Ltd

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd boosted its position in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) by 688.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 479,126 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after buying an additional 418,365 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $34,722,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Main Street Group LTD acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 59.4% during the first quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 416 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the period. Towne Trust Company N.A increased its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 60.2% during the fourth quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 431 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the period. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its holdings in Williams Companies by 102.5% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 480 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams Companies Stock Down 1.9%

WMB stock opened at $73.34 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $89.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.57. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $55.82 and a 52 week high of $80.07. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $74.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $71.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.60 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.380 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 29th. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th were issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 12th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 92.11%.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In related news, CFO John Dean Porter sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.37, for a total value of $3,768,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 196,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,815,254.79. This trade represents a 20.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Glen G. Jasek sold 2,500 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.15, for a total value of $195,375.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 54,101 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,227,993.15. This represents a 4.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 68,500 shares of company stock worth $5,182,655. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WMB. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Tuesday. Truist Financial started coverage on Williams Companies in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $84.00 price target for the company. Wolfe Research upgraded Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Williams Companies from $88.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $83.56.

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.