Amundi Acquires 2,020,899 Shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Amundi lifted its stake in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 20.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,710,478 shares of the pipeline company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,020,899 shares during the period. Amundi owned approximately 0.96% of Williams Companies worth $852,289,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WMB. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $747,749,000. BROOKFIELD Corp ON raised its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 190.3% in the 2nd quarter. BROOKFIELD Corp ON now owns 12,028,186 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $755,490,000 after buying an additional 7,884,730 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 21.3% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 21,325,482 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,281,875,000 after acquiring an additional 3,748,126 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 295.7% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,446,915 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $268,723,000 after acquiring an additional 3,323,012 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 11.0% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 33,572,067 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $2,018,017,000 after acquiring an additional 3,314,851 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street expects Williams’ June 2026 quarter, due August 3, to show year-over-year revenue and earnings growth. The company has an Earnings ESP of 7.95%, indicating that the most accurate analyst estimate is above consensus and raising the possibility of an earnings beat. Williams Companies Draws Earnings Optimism
• Positive Sentiment: Williams announced a quarterly cash dividend, reinforcing the income appeal of its midstream, largely contracted pipeline business. Midstream companies’ durable free-cash-flow generation continues to support dividend growth and share repurchases. Williams Announces Quarterly Cash Dividend Midstream and MLP Free Cash Flow
• Neutral Sentiment: Williams has returned approximately 257% over five years, but the strong run has prompted investors to question whether much of the company’s future growth is already reflected in the share price. The analysis characterizes WMB as fully valued rather than clearly inexpensive. Williams Stock Looks Fully Valued
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts remain focused on whether Williams’ gas-infrastructure strategy and contracted cash flows can deliver the expected long-term growth. The company is scheduled to release results after the August 3 close, followed by an investor call on August 4. Williams as a Steady Hand as Crude Swings
• Negative Sentiment: Retreating crude oil and natural-gas prices have pressured the broader energy sector, while investors have taken a cautious stance ahead of earnings. Recent insider activity also showed sales without reported purchases, which may add to short-term sentiment concerns. Why Williams Stock Is Down

Williams Companies Trading Down 0.8%

WMB stock opened at $70.24 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $85.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.81, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.57. Williams Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $55.82 and a twelve month high of $80.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99. The business has a fifty day moving average of $73.87 and a 200-day moving average of $72.03.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.10. The company 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 was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.60 EPS. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.380 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.45 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $83.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 12,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.48, for a total value of $917,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 98,219 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,511,789.12. This represents a 10.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO John Dean Porter sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.37, for a total transaction of $3,768,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 196,567 shares in the company, valued at $14,815,254.79. This represents a 20.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 68,500 shares of company stock valued at $5,182,655 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.47% of the company's stock.

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.

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