First Bank & Trust Has $3.42 Million Holdings in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

First Bank & Trust trimmed its position in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) by 13.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 56,884 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 9,064 shares during the period. First Bank & Trust’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $3,419,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new stake in Williams Companies during the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in Williams Companies in the third quarter valued at about $36,000. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora boosted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 71.2% during the third quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora now owns 630 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Turning Point Benefit Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the third quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the third quarter worth about $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on WMB shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Williams Companies from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $70.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Williams Companies from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $77.00.

Key Headlines Impacting Williams Companies

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

• Positive Sentiment: Truist Securities initiated coverage with a Buy and an $84 price target, signaling ~13–14% upside from the recent price and providing institutional validation for WMB’s growth prospects. Truist Initiates Coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Surging energy prices (WTI near $90 after geopolitical supply shocks) are supporting the broader energy complex; higher commodity prices and tight markets can boost pipeline throughput and tolling economics over time. Higher Oil Prices Article
• Positive Sentiment: Management commentary on growing power demand from data centers highlights a structural growth avenue for Williams (natural gas and power‑adjacent infrastructure needs), which could support longer‑term revenue diversification. CEO on Data Center Demand
• Neutral Sentiment: Oklahoma Gov. Stitt named energy executive Alan Armstrong to the U.S. Senate seat — a political development with uncertain direct impact on Williams but potentially relevant for energy/regulatory policy in the region. Alan Armstrong Senate Appointment
• Negative Sentiment: US Capital Advisors cut multiple near‑term EPS estimates (Q1–Q3 2026 and FY2026/FY2027 lowered), trimming near‑term earnings expectations and creating short‑term pressure on the stock despite some longer‑term upside forecasts. These revisions increase the risk that WMB could miss quarterly consensus or see guidance re‑calibration. (Source: US Capital Advisors / Market commentary)

Williams Companies Price Performance

Williams Companies stock opened at $73.89 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $70.40 and its 200 day moving average is $63.91. Williams Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $51.58 and a one year high of $76.87. The firm has a market cap of $90.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.63. 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 (NYSE:WMB) 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 firm had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.10 billion. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 17.32% and a net margin of 21.90%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.47 EPS. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.380 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This is a boost from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is 98.13%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 27,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.92, for a total value of $1,968,840.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 293,159 shares in the company, valued at $21,377,154.28. The trade was a 8.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Payvand Fazel sold 2,898 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.15, for a total transaction of $211,988.70. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 31,766 shares in the company, valued at $2,323,682.90. This trade represents a 8.36% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 51,369 shares of company stock worth $3,769,012 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

About Williams Companies

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.