AlphaQuest LLC Sells 21,341 Shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

AlphaQuest LLC lowered its position in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) by 92.6% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,709 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 21,341 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $108,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WMB. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Williams Companies by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 133,075,340 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $8,358,462,000 after purchasing an additional 1,912,156 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Williams Companies by 27.3% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 14,417,821 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $905,583,000 after buying an additional 3,089,390 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the second quarter worth about $765,164,000. BROOKFIELD Corp ON increased its stake in Williams Companies by 190.3% in the 2nd quarter. BROOKFIELD Corp ON now owns 12,028,186 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $755,490,000 after acquiring an additional 7,884,730 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 9.9% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 10,056,234 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $631,632,000 after acquiring an additional 903,457 shares in the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams Companies Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of WMB stock opened at $72.29 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $62.69 and a 200 day moving average of $60.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 0.53 and a quick ratio of 0.36. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $51.58 and a 1-year high of $72.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $88.28 billion, a PE ratio of 33.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.65.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.10 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.47 earnings per share. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.380 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. This is an increase from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 93.46%.

Williams Companies News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Scotiabank upgraded WMB from “sector perform” to “sector outperform” and raised its price target to $84, signaling stronger conviction and a material upside from recent levels. Scotiabank upgrades Williams Companies (WMB)
• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup raised its price target to $81 and moved to a “buy” view — another major analyst endorsement that supports further upside and likely helped buying interest. Citigroup raises WMB price target to $81 (Benzinga)
• Positive Sentiment: Stifel Nicolaus increased its target to $78 and kept a “buy” rating, adding to the cluster of positive analyst revisions and reinforcing expectations for near-term share appreciation. Stifel raises WMB target to $78 (Benzinga)
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor/Analyst Day transcript (Seeking Alpha) provided management commentary and strategic detail that investors can use to vet guidance and capital-allocation priorities; such details help underpin analyst re-ratings but are informational rather than immediately catalytic. The Williams Companies, Inc. (WMB) Analyst/Investor Day Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: A Benzinga retrospective on 10‑year returns is informational for long-term investors but unlikely to move shares materially today. If You Invested $100 In Williams Companies…
• Negative Sentiment: Q4 results: Williams slightly missed EPS estimates (reported EPS below consensus) though revenue beat; management flagged 2026 growth capital of $6.1–$6.7B and maintenance capex of $850–$950M — higher near-term spending that could pressure free cash flow and put focus on funding and returns. Williams Companies Q4 Earnings Miss Estimates, Revenues Beat (Zacks)

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Tudor Pickering raised Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 1st. Zacks Research raised shares of Williams Companies from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Mizuho raised shares of Williams Companies to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $70.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.21.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.39, for a total value of $132,780.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 293,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,488,452.55. This trade represents a 0.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Williams Companies

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.