The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Lowers Stake in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company cut its holdings in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) by 8.8% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,069,327 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 102,573 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $77,826,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WMB. Gabelli Funds LLC grew its stake in Williams Companies by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 261,000 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $15,689,000 after acquiring an additional 17,900 shares during the period. SIR Capital Management L.P. increased its holdings in Williams Companies by 40.0% in the 4th quarter. SIR Capital Management L.P. now owns 525,232 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $31,572,000 after acquiring an additional 150,032 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR raised its position in Williams Companies by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 164,900 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $9,912,000 after acquiring an additional 13,438 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Williams Companies by 56.3% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 57,550 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $3,459,000 after purchasing an additional 20,740 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mediolanum International Funds Ltd lifted its holdings in Williams Companies by 688.5% during the first quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 479,126 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $34,722,000 after purchasing an additional 418,365 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In related news, SVP Glen G. Jasek sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.15, for a total value of $195,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 54,101 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,227,993.15. This trade represents a 4.42% 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, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 12,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.48, for a total value of $917,760.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 98,219 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,511,789.12. The trade was a 10.89% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 68,500 shares of company stock valued at $5,182,655. Company insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMB has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wolfe Research raised shares of Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $78.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Williams Companies from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Williams Companies from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $83.56.

Key Williams Companies News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts have set an average price target of $83.56, above recent trading levels, suggesting potential upside as investor sentiment remains constructive. Analysts Set Williams Companies Price Target at $83.56
• Positive Sentiment: Williams declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.525 per share, payable September 28 to shareholders of record September 11. The dividend equates to approximately $2.10 annually and a yield near 3%, reinforcing the stock’s appeal to income-focused investors. Williams Announces Quarterly Cash Dividend
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street expects higher year-over-year revenue and earnings for the quarter scheduled to be reported August 3. Williams currently has an Earnings ESP of 7.95%, indicating that the most accurate analyst estimate is above the broader consensus and raising the possibility of an earnings beat. Williams Companies Draws Earnings Optimism
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are evaluating whether Williams’ focus on natural-gas infrastructure and contracted cash flows can sustain long-term growth. Broader midstream-sector analysis highlights durable free-cash-flow generation, which supports dividends and potential buybacks. Midstream and MLPs Deliver Durable Free Cash Flow
• Negative Sentiment: After gaining approximately 257% over five years, Williams shares are viewed by some analysts as fully valued or expensive. The recent pullback has increased concern that much of the company’s success and future growth may already be reflected in the stock price, potentially limiting upside without strong earnings or guidance. Williams Stock Looks Fully Valued

Williams Companies Price Performance

Williams Companies stock opened at $70.13 on Thursday. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $55.82 and a 52-week high of $80.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.76, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $73.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.28 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 23.39% and a return on equity of 18.34%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.60 earnings per share. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.380 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 92.11%.

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.