Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Position in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) by 136.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,050 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,326 shares during the quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $1,733,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Private Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in Williams Companies by 104.8% during the second quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 469 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies in the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of Williams Companies stock opened at $61.50 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $75.10 billion, a PE ratio of 31.70, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $60.24 and a 200 day moving average of $59.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $51.58 and a 12 month high of $65.55.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 3rd. The pipeline company reported $0.49 earnings per share (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 return on equity of 16.74% and a net margin of 20.61%.The business’s revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.43 EPS. Williams Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.010-2.190 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 29th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 12th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 103.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 4,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.53, for a total value of $242,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 302,645 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,319,101.85. This trade represents a 1.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.44% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on WMB. Zacks Research cut Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Williams Companies from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Williams Companies from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Finally, Tudor Pickering raised shares of Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.29.

Williams Companies 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.