Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB Stake Boosted by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) by 24.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 790,281 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after buying an additional 156,183 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $58,749,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Main Street Group LTD purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Allied Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new position in Williams Companies in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 186 shares during the period. 86.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $87.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Williams Companies from $99.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Three investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.60.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In related news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 13,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.87, for a total transaction of $973,310.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 268,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,077,064.33. This trade 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 accessible through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 17,000 shares of company stock worth $1,262,930 over the last ninety days. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Williams Companies Stock Down 0.6%

Williams Companies stock opened at $73.75 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $90.21 billion, a PE ratio of 29.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.48. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $73.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $73.33. Williams Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $56.08 and a twelve month high of $80.07.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The pipeline company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50. Williams Companies had a net margin of 25.17% and a return on equity of 18.49%. The company had revenue of $3.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.83 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.46 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.350-2.350 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

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

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.