Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB Stock Holdings Reduced by Generali Asset Management SPA SGR

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR lowered its stake in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) by 46.8% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 82,080 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 72,285 shares during the quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $5,579,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 0.8% in the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 608,467 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $41,358,000 after purchasing an additional 4,573 shares during the period. Lynch Investment Planning LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the third quarter worth $88,000. Balance Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at $73,000. Foresight Capital Management Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Harrison Street Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 13.8% during the 3rd quarter. Harrison Street Private Wealth LLC now owns 78,096 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $5,308,000 after buying an additional 9,449 shares in the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams Companies News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Williams Companies this week:

• Positive Sentiment: WMB recently moved above both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, signaling improving short-term and long-term momentum. These breakouts may attract technical traders and reinforce the view that the stock has established support near current levels. WMB 50-day moving average article WMB 200-day moving average article
• Positive Sentiment: Unusual options activity points to bullish positioning: investors purchased about 151,361 WMB call options, roughly 997% above typical call volume. Options activity is speculative, but it suggests increased expectations for further gains. WMB options and moving average article
• Positive Sentiment: Investors are looking ahead to third-quarter results, with the Socrates Phase 1 project, the Momentum acquisition and strong natural-gas demand identified as potential growth drivers. Williams’ fee-based pipeline model also makes it a relatively defensive energy holding, including for power demand from data centers. Williams Q3 earnings preview
• Neutral Sentiment: Williams declared a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, payable December 28 to shareholders of record December 11. The $2.10 annualized payout represents a yield of approximately 2.8%, but the dividend was maintained rather than increased. Williams quarterly dividend announcement
• Negative Sentiment: Rising interest rates could pressure WMB’s valuation and increase financing costs, particularly given its relatively high leverage. Higher yields may also make the company’s dividend less attractive compared with cash and other income investments, while rising operating costs remain a risk ahead of earnings.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Terrance Wilson sold 13,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.87, for a total value of $973,310.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 268,159 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,077,064.33. The trade was a 4.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have sold 19,000 shares of company stock worth $1,401,430 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on WMB shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Williams Companies from $85.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. Barclays initiated coverage on Williams Companies in a report on Thursday, October 1st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $82.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Williams Companies from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Williams Companies from $99.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.06.

Williams Companies Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of WMB opened at $74.23 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 0.48 and a quick ratio of 0.43. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $56.19 and a 1 year high of $80.07. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $72.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.13. The firm has a market cap of $90.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.64.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The pipeline company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.50. Williams Companies had a net margin of 25.17% and a return on equity of 18.49%. The firm had revenue of $3.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.83 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.46 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.350-2.350 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 28th. Investors of record on Friday, December 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.5250 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 11th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.67%.

Williams Companies Profile

The Williams Companies, Inc is an energy infrastructure company headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Founded in 1908 as Williams Brothers, the company has evolved from an early pipeline contractor into a major operator of natural gas infrastructure in the United States.

Williams primarily gathers, processes, transports and stores natural gas and natural gas liquids. Its assets include interstate and regional pipelines, gas processing and fractionation facilities, storage operations, and gathering systems that connect producers with utilities, industrial customers, power generators and other energy markets.