First Trust Advisors LP Acquires 508,423 Shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) by 97.4% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,030,419 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after acquiring an additional 508,423 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $65,277,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Williams Companies in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $765,164,000. BROOKFIELD Corp ON boosted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 190.3% in the second quarter. BROOKFIELD Corp ON now owns 12,028,186 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $755,490,000 after acquiring an additional 7,884,730 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 27.3% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 14,417,821 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $905,583,000 after acquiring an additional 3,089,390 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 30.4% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,073,602 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $574,856,000 after acquiring an additional 2,116,526 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 39.0% in the second quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 6,954,733 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $436,827,000 after acquiring an additional 1,950,485 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of Williams Companies stock opened at $73.79 on Wednesday. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $51.58 and a 52-week high of $76.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.14 billion, a PE ratio of 34.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 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. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $67.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $62.71.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The pipeline company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by ($0.02). Williams Companies had a return on equity of 17.32% and a net margin of 21.90%.The business had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.47 earnings per share. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.380 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This is a positive change 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 is Friday, March 13th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 93.46%.

Key Stories Impacting Williams Companies

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

• Positive Sentiment: Global LNG supply disruption has pushed U.S. natural gas prices higher, boosting demand outlook for U.S. pipeline and export infrastructure providers like Williams. Higher spreads and export demand generally support volumes and fee-based revenue for midstream operators. U.S. Natural Gas Prices Rise on Global LNG Supply Disruption
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment is shifting upward — Williams had a recent price-target raise (to $87) and is being highlighted among income-oriented oil & gas stocks, which can attract buy-side interest and support multiple expansion. The Williams Companies, Inc. (WMB) Price Target Raised to $87
• Positive Sentiment: Media and analysts are calling natural gas a bigger investment opportunity amid geopolitical tensions, and Williams is repeatedly named as a key U.S. infrastructure play to benefit from rising export volumes. That narrative supports higher investor appetite for WMB. Forget Oil, Expert Sees ‘bigger Opportunity’ In Natural Gas Amid War
• Neutral Sentiment: Williams executives will present at CERAWeek 2026, providing management visibility on strategy (exports, infrastructure investments, innovation). Investor presentations can help sentiment but are informational until they produce new guidance or contracts. Williams Leadership to Share Insights on Energy Infrastructure and Innovation at CERAWeek 2026
• Neutral Sentiment: Williams’ Transco unit has commenced a registered exchange offer for two series of senior notes (2036 and 2056). This is primarily a capital-markets action (registration/liquidity of notes) — watch details for any consent or tender terms that could impact cash flow or refinancing cost. Williams’ Transco Commences Registered Exchange Offer for Its 5.100% Senior Notes Due 2036 and 5.750% Senior Notes Due 2056
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader investor interest in midstream-focused ETFs (e.g., VanEck EINC) highlights demand for yield and infrastructure exposure; that can direct flows to big midstream names like WMB but also increases sensitivity to oil/gas price swings and distribution risk perceptions. Retirees Chasing Monthly Cash Flow From This ETF May Be Surprised by the Fine Print

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Williams Companies news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 10,107 shares of Williams Companies 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 sale, the chief accounting officer directly 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.24, for a total value of $150,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 291,159 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,906,803.16. This represents a 0.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 41,107 shares of company stock worth $3,009,215 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on WMB. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective 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. Tudor Pickering raised shares of Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Williams Companies from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $66.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Williams Companies from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.86.

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.