Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. decreased its position in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 8,257,555 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 261,259 shares during the quarter. Williams Companies accounts for 2.6% of Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $523,116,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new stake in Williams Companies during the second quarter worth $32,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Aspect Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 81.3% in the 2nd quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 582 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In related news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 27,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.92, for a total value of $1,968,840.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 293,159 shares in the company, valued at $21,377,154.28. This represents a 8.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 10,107 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.91, for a total transaction of $757,115.37. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 17,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,290,699.30. The trade was a 36.97% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 41,107 shares of company stock worth $2,982,535 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE WMB opened at $74.75 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $65.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $61.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 0.53 and a quick ratio of 0.48. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $51.58 and a 1 year high of $75.59. The firm has a market cap of $91.31 billion, a PE ratio of 34.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.63.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.10 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.90% and a return on equity of 17.32%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.47 earnings per share. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.380 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The business 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This is a boost from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 93.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup upped their price objective on Williams Companies from $70.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Williams Companies has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $75.36.

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.