Cerity Partners LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) by 12.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 212,487 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after buying an additional 22,938 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $13,346,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Flaharty Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Williams Companies during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC raised its position in shares of Williams Companies by 104.8% during the 2nd quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 469 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC purchased a new stake in Williams Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new stake in Williams Companies during the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Williams Companies from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Argus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $66.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 4th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $70.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Finally, Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.21.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

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

Williams Companies Stock Down 1.7%

Williams Companies stock opened at $60.47 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.42. Williams Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $51.58 and a one year high of $65.55. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $60.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.62.

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

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is presently 103.09%.

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.