Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB Stake Cut by Private Advisor Group LLC

Private Advisor Group LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 118,369 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 10,106 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $7,499,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. LRI Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 2,169 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $137,000 after buying an additional 176 shares during the period. Patten & Patten Inc. TN raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 187 shares during the period. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC raised its stake in Williams Companies by 1.9% during the third quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC now owns 10,420 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $660,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the period. Gentry Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Williams Companies by 2.1% in the third quarter. Gentry Private Wealth LLC now owns 9,578 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $607,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tradewinds Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Williams Companies by 9.0% in the third quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 2,425 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $154,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 10,107 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $1,290,699.30. The trade was a 36.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 27,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.92, for a total transaction of $1,968,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 293,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,377,154.28. The trade was a 8.43% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 48,471 shares of company stock valued at $3,557,023. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

WMB opened at $73.64 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $68.04 and its 200-day moving average is $62.86. The stock has a market cap of $89.96 billion, a PE ratio of 34.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83. Williams Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $51.58 and a twelve month high of $76.87.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The pipeline company reported $0.55 earnings per share (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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.10 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.47 earnings per share. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.380 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 93.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Tudor Pickering raised Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Williams Companies from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Williams Companies from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Williams Companies from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Williams Companies from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Two research 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.86.

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.