Eventide Asset Management LLC Buys 28,915 Shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Eventide Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,044,438 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after acquiring an additional 28,915 shares during the quarter. Williams Companies accounts for 1.2% of Eventide Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Eventide Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $66,177,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at about $765,164,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 27.3% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 14,417,821 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $905,583,000 after buying an additional 3,089,390 shares in the last quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. raised its position in Williams Companies by 34.0% in the 1st quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 11,287,921 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $674,566,000 after buying an additional 2,861,988 shares during the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lifted its stake in Williams Companies by 39.0% in the 2nd quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 6,954,733 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $436,827,000 after acquiring an additional 1,950,485 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Williams Companies by 275.7% in the 1st quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 2,609,318 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $155,933,000 after acquiring an additional 1,914,730 shares in the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 297,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,418,035.50. This trade represents a 0.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

NYSE WMB opened at $59.77 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $60.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.72. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $51.58 and a 1 year high of $65.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.62.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.87 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 20.61% and a return on equity of 16.74%. The business’s revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.43 EPS. Williams Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.010-2.190 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 103.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WMB. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $70.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 4th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Monday. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Williams Companies from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.21.

About Williams Companies

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.