4,426,879 Shares in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB Acquired by Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 4,426,879 shares of the pipeline company’s stock, valued at approximately $329,094,000. Williams Companies makes up about 2.1% of Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board owned about 0.36% of Williams Companies at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Apella Capital LLC increased its position in Williams Companies by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 5,988 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $450,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP raised its holdings in Williams Companies by 0.9% during the second quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 16,153 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,201,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Aletheian Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 3.8% in the second quarter. Aletheian Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,830 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $285,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,000 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $361,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 2,986 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $222,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $88.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Williams Companies from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Williams Companies from $87.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Williams Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.60.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 13,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.87, for a total transaction of $973,310.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 268,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,077,064.33. This represents a 4.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders have sold 17,000 shares of company stock worth $1,262,930 in the last quarter. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:WMB opened at $75.25 on Wednesday. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $55.82 and a 1 year high of $80.07. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $73.38 and a 200-day moving average of $73.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.59.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The pipeline company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50. The business had revenue of $3.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.83 billion. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 18.49% and a net margin of 25.17%.Williams Companies’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.46 EPS. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.350-2.350 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.67%.

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.