Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Increases Stake in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System raised its position in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) by 2.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,192,703 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 33,156 shares during the period. Williams Companies accounts for approximately 1.6% of Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System owned 0.10% of Williams Companies worth $75,558,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WMB. Chapin Davis Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Chapin Davis Inc. now owns 10,955 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $688,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the period. Wallace Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in Williams Companies by 2.6% in the second quarter. Wallace Advisory Group LLC now owns 7,031 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $420,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. increased its stake in Williams Companies by 2.2% in the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 8,177 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $514,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Quantum Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 5.1% during the second quarter. Quantum Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,933 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $247,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. Finally, LRI Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 10.7% during the second quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 1,993 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $125,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.90, for a total value of $123,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 297,545 shares in the company, valued at $18,418,035.50. This represents a 0.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

NYSE WMB opened at $61.56 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $60.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $59.64. The firm has a market cap of $75.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.73, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.36. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $51.58 and a 1 year high of $65.55.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The pipeline company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.02). Williams Companies had a return on equity of 16.74% and a net margin of 20.61%.The firm had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.43 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Williams Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.010-2.190 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 12th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 103.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on WMB. Zacks Research lowered Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Mizuho raised Williams Companies to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Barclays increased their target price on Williams Companies from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Monday, January 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.29.

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.