OP Asset Management Ltd Buys Shares of 123,848 Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

OP Asset Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 123,848 shares of the pipeline company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,014,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMB. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise lifted its holdings in Williams Companies by 4.0% during the first quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 39,265 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $2,858,000 after purchasing an additional 1,507 shares during the last quarter. Apella Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 19.5% in the first quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 5,854 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $417,000 after purchasing an additional 954 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 26.1% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 792,077 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $57,647,000 after purchasing an additional 164,159 shares in the last quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Williams Companies by 16.8% in the first quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,645 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $484,000 after purchasing an additional 957 shares during the period. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 449.0% during the 1st quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 549 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 449 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of NYSE WMB opened at $77.43 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $55.82 and a 12 month high of $80.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $94.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.96, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.58. The business has a 50-day moving average of $73.68 and a 200-day moving average of $69.72.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.28 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 23.39% and a return on equity of 18.34%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.60 EPS. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.380 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 29th. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th will be given a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is presently 92.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce raised their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperformer” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price 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. Citigroup increased their target price on Williams Companies from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Scotiabank raised their price target on Williams Companies from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Williams Companies from $78.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.40.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In other news, CFO John Dean Porter sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.37, for a total value of $3,768,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 196,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,815,254.79. The trade was a 20.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.35, for a total transaction of $152,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 287,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,924,589.65. This trade represents a 0.69% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 68,500 shares of company stock worth $5,177,835 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

About Williams Companies

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.