Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB Shares Acquired by Cibc World Market Inc.

Cibc World Market Inc. increased its holdings in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) by 55.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 700,646 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 250,571 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc.’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $42,116,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMB. Towne Trust Company N.A lifted its position in Williams Companies by 60.2% during the fourth quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 431 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the period. Clearstead Trust LLC increased its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 62.2% during the 4th quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 485 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. WHI TRUST Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams Companies Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of WMB stock opened at $72.28 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99. Williams Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $55.82 and a fifty-two week high of $80.07. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $73.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $68.39. The stock has a market cap of $88.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.58.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.10. Williams Companies had a net margin of 23.39% and a return on equity of 18.34%. The company had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.60 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.380 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 29th. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th will be issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 92.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.48, for a total value of $917,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 98,219 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,511,789.12. This trade represents a 10.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Todd J. Rinke sold 7,364 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.39, for a total value of $547,807.96. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 26,055 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,938,231.45. The trade was a 22.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 78,762 shares of company stock valued at $5,937,632 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMB has been the subject of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Williams Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $82.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Williams Companies from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce increased their target price on Williams Companies from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperformer” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $82.40.

Williams Companies 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.