Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB – Free Report) by 14.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 110,388 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,176 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $6,993,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC bought a new stake in Williams Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC raised its position in shares of Williams Companies by 104.8% in the second quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 469 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies during the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies during the second quarter worth approximately $35,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Key Headlines Impacting Williams Companies
Here are the key news stories impacting Williams Companies this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Multiple broker upgrades and higher price targets — Citi raised its target to $81 with a “buy” rating, Wells Fargo lifted its target to $80 (“overweight”), and RBC moved to $78 (“outperform”), signaling analyst conviction and upside vs. the current price. Analyst Price Target Rises
- Positive Sentiment: Company raised FY2026 guidance and sees higher 2026 profit driven by pipeline and offshore projects; management highlighted projects that should drive earnings growth and cash flow. Williams Sees Higher 2026 Profit
- Positive Sentiment: Q4 / FY25 results were mixed but supportive: adjusted EPS missed by $0.02 while revenue beat estimates and the company reported record results; management’s tone and the revenue beat appear to have calmed investor concerns. Earnings and Revenue Beat Context
- Positive Sentiment: Local/regional coverage highlights demand tailwinds from data-center growth in Tulsa and additional industrial/power demand that underpin midstream volume growth. Tulsa Data-Center Demand
- Neutral Sentiment: Longer-term performance pieces note WMB’s strong multi-year returns, useful for investor context but less likely to move the stock near-term. 10-Year Return Analysis
- Neutral Sentiment: Sector commentary and S&P 500 energy insights provide broader market context for WMB but are informational rather than company-specific catalysts. Energy Sector Insights
- Negative Sentiment: Valuation and technical caution: analysts and MarketBeat note the stock is trading near/above consensus targets and technical indicators (RSI) look stretched, which raises the risk that the share price needs time to digest gains; the tiny EPS miss also tempers the beat. Technical / Valuation Caution
Insider Activity at Williams Companies
Analyst Ratings Changes
WMB has been the subject of several analyst reports. Tudor Pickering raised Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 1st. TD Cowen raised their price target on Williams Companies from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Zacks Research raised Williams Companies from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $71.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $71.21.
View Our Latest Stock Analysis on Williams Companies
Williams Companies Stock Up 0.1%
NYSE:WMB opened at $71.17 on Friday. Williams Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $51.58 and a one year high of $72.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 0.53 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The company has a market cap of $86.92 billion, a PE ratio of 33.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.65. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $62.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.70.
Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB – Get Free Report) last released 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.10 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.90% and a return on equity of 17.32%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.47 EPS. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.380 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share 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 3.0%. 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%.
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.
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