Polaris Capital Management LLC Reduces Holdings in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Polaris Capital Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) by 2.7% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 479,700 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 13,500 shares during the quarter. Williams Companies accounts for approximately 2.0% of Polaris Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Polaris Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $30,389,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WMB. Private Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its position in Williams Companies by 104.8% during the 2nd quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 469 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Williams Companies in the second quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies in the third quarter worth $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In other news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.90, for a total value of $123,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 297,545 shares in the company, valued at $18,418,035.50. The trade was a 0.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, October 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Monday, December 29th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Williams Companies from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.29.

Williams Companies Stock Down 1.3%

NYSE:WMB opened at $59.55 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.42. The firm has a market cap of $72.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.64. Williams Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $51.58 and a fifty-two week high of $65.55. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $59.65.

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

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 12th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 103.09%.

Williams Companies Company Profile

Williams Companies, Inc (NYSE: WMB) is a U.S.-based energy infrastructure company focused on the midstream segment of the natural gas value chain. The company develops, owns and operates assets that gather, process, transport and store natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGLs). Its operations support the movement of gas from production areas to end users including utilities, power generators, industrial customers and export facilities.

Williams’s product and service offering includes interstate and intrastate pipeline transmission, gas-gathering systems, processing facilities that remove impurities and separate NGLs, storage services and fractionation and transportation of NGL products.