Sandler Capital Management Has $5.67 Million Stock Holdings in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Sandler Capital Management trimmed its position in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) by 49.8% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 94,840 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 94,224 shares during the period. Williams Companies makes up 1.4% of Sandler Capital Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Sandler Capital Management’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $5,668,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in Williams Companies in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Menard Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new position in Williams Companies in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Williams Companies by 4,490.9% in the 1st quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 505 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 494 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Williams Companies in the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.47, for a total value of $263,115.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 77,612 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,537,973.64. This represents a 5.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.68, for a total value of $119,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 313,645 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,718,333.60. The trade was a 0.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 8,500 shares of company stock valued at $507,875. 0.44% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of WMB stock opened at $57.14 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73. Williams Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $43.98 and a twelve month high of $63.45. The company has a market cap of $69.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.65. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $58.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $58.39.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.46 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.43 earnings per share. Williams Companies’s quarterly revenue 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. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 100.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on WMB shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $63.00 price objective on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen lowered Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Barclays upped their target price on Williams Companies from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Williams Companies from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their target price 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $62.86.

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.