Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Raises Stock Holdings in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) by 8.3% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,642,572 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after acquiring an additional 203,462 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $165,980,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its stake in Williams Companies by 7.9% during the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 4,812 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $302,000 after purchasing an additional 354 shares during the period. Freemont Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 30.6% during the second quarter. Freemont Management S.A. now owns 119,100 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $7,481,000 after buying an additional 27,900 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc grew its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 15.9% during the second quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 61,962 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $3,893,000 after buying an additional 8,514 shares during the last quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Williams Companies by 44.0% in the 2nd quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 19,707 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,238,000 after acquiring an additional 6,019 shares during the period. Finally, AGF Management Ltd. raised its stake in Williams Companies by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 1,388,536 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $87,214,000 after acquiring an additional 82,859 shares during the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMB has been the topic of several analyst reports. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Argus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $66.00 price objective on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. CIBC raised shares of Williams Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and set a $64.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Mizuho raised shares of Williams Companies to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.86.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:WMB opened at $59.53 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73. Williams Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $51.58 and a fifty-two week high of $65.55. The stock has a market cap of $72.59 billion, a PE ratio of 29.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.63. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $60.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.41.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 3rd. The pipeline company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.87 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 16.23%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.43 EPS. Williams Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.010-2.190 EPS. Analysts expect that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 103.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.62, for a total transaction of $115,240.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 311,645 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,956,984.90. The trade was a 0.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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 value of $263,115.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Company 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.