Wealthfront Advisers LLC Sells 15,774 Shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Wealthfront Advisers LLC trimmed its position in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 204,170 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 15,774 shares during the quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $12,934,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WMB. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC raised its holdings in Williams Companies by 104.8% in the second quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 469 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new position in Williams Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on WMB shares. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Monday, January 12th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Williams Companies from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Tudor Pickering upgraded Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.64.

Key Headlines Impacting Williams Companies

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4/end‑of‑year results showed strong top‑line and profitability gains: revenue rose to $3.2B (+16.6% YoY), gross profit and operating profit improved materially, and full‑year results were called “record.” The firm also highlighted healthy operating cash flow. Williams Releases Q4 2025 Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and the market are upbeat on structural gas demand (industrial reshoring, power for AI workloads, LNG export growth), supporting a bullish midstream thesis and higher near‑term appetite for WMB shares. Williams Stock Climbs as Investors Focus on Gas Demand
• Positive Sentiment: Several firms have raised price targets and maintained buy/outperform ratings (Jefferies, Mizuho and others), keeping analyst sentiment constructive; Jefferies’ $76 target sits above the current price. Jefferies and Mizuho Raise Price Targets
• Neutral Sentiment: FY‑2026 EPS guidance was updated to a range of $2.20–$2.38, roughly in line with consensus (~$2.28) — guidance confirms growth but offers limited upside surprise.
• Neutral Sentiment: Institutional ownership flows are mixed: large additions by some managers (Wellington, UBS AM, BlackRock) offset big reductions by others (Brookfield, Castle Hook). This signals both conviction and profit‑taking among big holders. Institutional Holdings Summary
• Negative Sentiment: Adjusted EPS missed consensus by a few cents (reported ~$0.55 vs. ~0.57–0.58 expected), which could pressure near‑term sentiment despite the revenue beat. WMB Misses Q4 Earnings Estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Unusually large put buying was reported (≈16,519 puts traded, ~112% above typical volume), indicating some traders are hedging or speculating on a pullback. This elevates short‑term downside risk.
• Negative Sentiment: Company insiders have sold shares (multiple sales over the past 6 months), which can be interpreted by some investors as a modest negative signal on near‑term insider conviction. Insider Trading Details

Williams Companies Stock Performance

NYSE WMB opened at $68.82 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $84.04 billion, a PE ratio of 35.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.65. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $51.58 and a 1 year high of $71.58. The company has a fifty day moving average of $62.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $60.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.36.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The pipeline company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.57 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.10 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 20.61% and a return on equity of 16.74%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.47 earnings per share. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.380 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Stockholders 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 3.1%. This is a boost from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is presently 103.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.39, for a total transaction of $132,780.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 293,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,488,452.55. This represents a 0.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

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.