Bessemer Group Inc. Lowers Position in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Bessemer Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) by 23.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 76,188 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 23,253 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $4,787,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WMB. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Williams Companies by 40.9% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 13,680 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $740,000 after purchasing an additional 3,969 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 52.4% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 326,236 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $19,760,000 after acquiring an additional 112,157 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 9.4% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,788 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $286,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd lifted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 55.7% in the first quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd now owns 6,149 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $367,000 after acquiring an additional 2,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. lifted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 6.2% in the first quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 10,220 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $611,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams Companies Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of WMB stock opened at $56.92 on Thursday. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $51.48 and a 12-month high of $65.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $60.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.65.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.03). Williams Companies had a return on equity of 16.23% and a net margin of 21.63%.The firm had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.43 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Williams Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.010-2.190 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

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 paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is presently 100.50%.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.47, for a total transaction of $263,115.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 77,612 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,537,973.64. The trade was a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.62, for a total value of $115,240.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 311,645 shares in the company, valued at $17,956,984.90. The trade was a 0.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 8,500 shares of company stock worth $497,715 over the last three months. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $63.00 price objective on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Williams Companies from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Cibc World Mkts upgraded Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Williams Companies in a research report on Friday, September 19th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $66.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Williams Companies presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.73.

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.