AlphaQuest LLC Sells 21,341 Shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

AlphaQuest LLC cut its stake in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) by 92.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,709 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 21,341 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $108,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wallace Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in Williams Companies by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Wallace Advisory Group LLC now owns 7,031 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $420,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 8.8% in the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 2,169 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $137,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. lifted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 2.2% during the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 8,177 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $514,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN boosted its holdings in Williams Companies by 1.7% during the third quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 11,087 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $702,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First National Bank of Hutchinson boosted its holdings in Williams Companies by 2.7% during the second quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 7,684 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $483,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMB opened at $72.29 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $88.28 billion, a PE ratio of 33.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $62.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $60.80. Williams Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $51.58 and a twelve month high of $72.63.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The pipeline company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 in the previous year, the company posted $0.47 earnings per share. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.380 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The business 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 $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This is an increase from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 93.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Williams Companies from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Williams Companies from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Williams Companies from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.21.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In other news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.39, for a total value of $132,780.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 293,545 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,488,452.55. The trade was a 0.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Williams Companies

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

• Positive Sentiment: Scotiabank upgraded WMB from “sector perform” to “sector outperform” and raised its price target to $84, signaling stronger conviction and a material upside from recent levels. Scotiabank upgrades Williams Companies (WMB)
• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup raised its price target to $81 and moved to a “buy” view — another major analyst endorsement that supports further upside and likely helped buying interest. Citigroup raises WMB price target to $81 (Benzinga)
• Positive Sentiment: Stifel Nicolaus increased its target to $78 and kept a “buy” rating, adding to the cluster of positive analyst revisions and reinforcing expectations for near-term share appreciation. Stifel raises WMB target to $78 (Benzinga)
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor/Analyst Day transcript (Seeking Alpha) provided management commentary and strategic detail that investors can use to vet guidance and capital-allocation priorities; such details help underpin analyst re-ratings but are informational rather than immediately catalytic. The Williams Companies, Inc. (WMB) Analyst/Investor Day Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: A Benzinga retrospective on 10‑year returns is informational for long-term investors but unlikely to move shares materially today. If You Invested $100 In Williams Companies…
• Negative Sentiment: Q4 results: Williams slightly missed EPS estimates (reported EPS below consensus) though revenue beat; management flagged 2026 growth capital of $6.1–$6.7B and maintenance capex of $850–$950M — higher near-term spending that could pressure free cash flow and put focus on funding and returns. Williams Companies Q4 Earnings Miss Estimates, Revenues Beat (Zacks)

Williams Companies Company 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.