Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB Shares Sold by Artisan Partners Limited Partnership

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership decreased its holdings in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) by 10.2% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,246,995 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 707,738 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $395,747,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Choreo LLC increased its holdings in Williams Companies by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 26,255 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,663,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Advisor OS LLC increased its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 27.2% during the third quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 29,578 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,874,000 after purchasing an additional 6,316 shares in the last quarter. Interchange Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 24.9% during the third quarter. Interchange Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,382 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $468,000 after purchasing an additional 1,474 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Williams Companies by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,706,923 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $171,484,000 after purchasing an additional 64,351 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP lifted its stake in Williams Companies by 13.4% in the 3rd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 201,065 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $12,737,000 after buying an additional 23,747 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of Williams Companies stock opened at $74.77 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $91.34 billion, a PE ratio of 34.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $51.58 and a 52 week high of $75.49. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $65.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $61.66.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.57 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.10 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.90% and a return on equity of 17.32%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.47 earnings per share. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.380 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This is an increase from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 93.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on WMB shares. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Williams Companies from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Zacks Research upgraded Williams Companies from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Williams Companies from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $78.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock 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 given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.36.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 27,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.92, for a total value 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 approximately $21,377,154.28. The trade was a 8.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders have sold 31,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,225,420. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.