Laffer Tengler Investments Inc. Sells 10,779 Shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Laffer Tengler Investments Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) by 14.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 63,187 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 10,779 shares during the period. Laffer Tengler Investments Inc.’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $3,969,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 40.9% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 13,680 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $740,000 after purchasing an additional 3,969 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Williams Companies by 3.4% during the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 189,549 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $11,327,000 after buying an additional 6,232 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in Williams Companies by 2.1% in the first quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 357,747 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $21,379,000 after buying an additional 7,267 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in Williams Companies by 13.1% in the first quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 705,020 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $42,132,000 after buying an additional 81,557 shares during the period. Finally, Q3 Asset Management bought a new stake in Williams Companies during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $252,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams Companies Stock Up 2.7%

Williams Companies stock opened at $59.53 on Monday. Williams Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $51.58 and a one year high of $65.55. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $60.38 and a 200 day moving average of $59.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market cap of $72.70 billion, a PE ratio of 29.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.63.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The pipeline company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.87 billion. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 16.23% and a net margin of 21.63%.The company’s revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.43 EPS. Williams Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.010-2.190 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS 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 dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 103.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Williams Companies from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. CIBC upgraded shares of Williams Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and set a $64.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, August 15th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Argus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $66.00 target price on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.86.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In other news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.62, for a total transaction of $115,240.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 311,645 shares in the company, valued at $17,956,984.90. This trade represents a 0.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.