California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 97,801 Shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

California Public Employees Retirement System reduced its position in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,306,715 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 97,801 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.19% of Williams Companies worth $144,885,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WMB. Flaharty Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Williams Companies in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Saudi Central Bank bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 104.8% in the second quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 469 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the second quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new position in Williams Companies during the second quarter worth $32,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In other news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.53, for a total value of $242,120.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 302,645 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,319,101.85. This represents a 1.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on WMB. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Monday, December 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 4th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Williams Companies has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.21.

Williams Companies Price Performance

NYSE:WMB opened at $62.84 on Monday. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $51.58 and a 12-month high of $65.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.62. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $60.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The pipeline company reported $0.49 EPS 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 business had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.43 earnings per share. The business’s revenue 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. On average, analysts anticipate that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is currently 103.09%.

About Williams Companies

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.