Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB Shares Purchased by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) by 14.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,338,690 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after buying an additional 166,782 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.11% of Williams Companies worth $84,848,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC purchased a new position in Williams Companies in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new stake in Williams Companies during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new stake in Williams Companies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. South Plains Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Williams Companies by 289.7% in the 2nd quarter. South Plains Financial Inc. now owns 608 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 452 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OLD Second National Bank of Aurora raised its position in shares of Williams Companies by 71.2% in the 3rd quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora now owns 630 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on WMB shares. Scotiabank raised shares of Williams Companies from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $66.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Friday, February 13th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $78.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $75.86.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In related news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 27,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.92, for a total transaction of $1,968,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 293,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,377,154.28. This represents a 8.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 10,107 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.91, for a total transaction of $757,115.37. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 17,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,290,699.30. This trade represents a 36.97% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 41,107 shares of company stock worth $3,009,215. Insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WMB opened at $73.13 on Tuesday. Williams Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $51.58 and a twelve month high of $76.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83. The company has a market capitalization of $89.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.63. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $67.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $62.59.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The pipeline company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.57 by ($0.02). Williams Companies had a return on equity of 17.32% and a net margin of 21.90%.The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.47 earnings per share. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.380 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. This is a positive change from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 93.46%.

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.