Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) SVP Sells $547,807.96 in Stock

Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) SVP Todd Rinke sold 7,364 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.39, for a total value of $547,807.96. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 26,055 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,938,231.45. This trade represents a 22.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Williams Companies Price Performance

NYSE WMB opened at $73.35 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $68.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $63.02. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $89.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.63. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $51.58 and a 52-week high of $76.87.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The pipeline company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.57 by ($0.02). Williams Companies had a return on equity of 17.32% and a net margin of 21.90%.The company had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.47 earnings per share. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.380 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This is an increase from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 98.13%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMB has been the topic of a number of research reports. Tudor Pickering raised shares of Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Williams Companies from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Zacks Research raised Williams Companies from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded Williams Companies from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $66.00 to $84.00 in a report on Friday, February 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $76.50.

More Williams Companies News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo upgraded WMB to “overweight” and raised its price target from $80 to $89 — a clear institutional bullish signal that can attract buying interest. Wells Fargo raises WMB price target
• Positive Sentiment: Large call‑option flow: traders bought ~140,820 WMB call contracts (>> typical daily call volume), suggesting short‑term bullish positioning or speculative bets that can amplify upside volatility.
• Positive Sentiment: Broker support: Raymond James reiterated a buy stance, reinforcing institutional confidence and helping sustain demand from fund managers. Raymond James sticks to buy
• Positive Sentiment: Industry tailwind: analysts highlight rising natural‑gas demand from AI/data‑center growth, a structural driver for pipeline throughput and long‑term cash flow improvement. Data center demand boosts natural gas outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Post‑earnings momentum: commentary notes WMB is up roughly 4.6% since the last earnings report; useful context on recent strength but not a stand‑alone catalyst. Can the rally continue?
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend increase: WMB raised its quarterly payout to $0.525 (annualized $2.10), boosting yield and income appeal—but note the payout ratio is high, which limits optionality. MarketBeat WMB overview
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: SVP Todd J. Rinke sold 7,364 shares (~22% reduction of his prior incremental position), a potential signal of profit‑taking or rebalancing that can weigh on near‑term sentiment. SEC filing for insider sale

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams Companies

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Fund Advisors of America Inc FL acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth $1,232,000. World Investment Advisors grew its stake in Williams Companies by 29.0% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 55,577 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $3,341,000 after buying an additional 12,508 shares during the last quarter. Meadowbrook Advisors Group LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth $302,000. Advisortrust Partners LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth $478,000. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in Williams Companies by 57.1% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,123,381 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $67,536,000 after acquiring an additional 408,117 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

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.