Rakuten Investment Management Inc. Sells 40,314 Shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) by 20.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 160,649 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 40,314 shares during the period. Rakuten Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $9,607,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,627,000. Gabelli Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 261,000 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $15,689,000 after buying an additional 17,900 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 21.0% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,105,570 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $125,839,000 after buying an additional 365,546 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR grew its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 164,900 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $9,912,000 after buying an additional 13,438 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 56.3% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 57,550 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $3,459,000 after buying an additional 20,740 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of WMB stock opened at $71.36 on Wednesday. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $55.82 and a 12-month high of $80.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $73.41 and its 200 day moving average is $69.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.58.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued its earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.60 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.380 EPS. Research analysts expect that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 92.11%.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In related news, SVP Glen G. Jasek sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.15, for a total value of $195,375.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 54,101 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,227,993.15. This trade represents a 4.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.48, for a total transaction of $917,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 98,219 shares in the company, valued at $7,511,789.12. This represents a 10.89% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 68,500 shares of company stock worth $5,177,835. Company insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMB has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Friday, March 27th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Four 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $82.40.

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.