Assetmark Inc. Acquires 20,335 Shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Key Points

• Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in Williams by 13.2% in Q4, buying 20,335 shares to hold 174,289 shares valued at about $10.48 million.
• Williams raised its quarterly dividend to $0.525 (annualized $2.10) for a ~3.0% yield, though the dividend payout ratio is high at roughly 98%, which may limit future increases.
• Analysts are broadly positive with a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating and a $77.47 target; the company reported Q results of $0.55 EPS (missed by $0.02) and set FY2026 guidance of $2.20–$2.38 EPS.

Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 13.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 174,289 shares of the pipeline company's stock after acquiring an additional 20,335 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc.'s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $10,476,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies during the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the third quarter valued at about $36,000. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora boosted its stake in Williams Companies by 71.2% in the third quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora now owns 630 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Turning Point Benefit Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the third quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the third quarter valued at about $48,000. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Zacks Research raised Williams Companies from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Williams Companies from $70.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on Williams Companies from $84.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Three 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $77.47.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:WMB opened at $71.17 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $86.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.26, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.63. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $55.56 and a 1-year high of $76.87. The business has a 50 day moving average of $72.93 and a 200 day moving average of $65.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 0.53 and a quick ratio of 0.48.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The pipeline company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.57 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.10 billion. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 17.32% and a net margin of 21.90%.During the same period last year, the business posted $0.47 earnings per share. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.380 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 30th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. This is a boost from Williams Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 98.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.75, for a total transaction of $143,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 289,159 shares in the company, valued at $20,747,158.25. This represents a 0.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 10,107 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.91, for a total value of $757,115.37. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 17,230 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,290,699.30. This trade represents a 36.97% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 53,369 shares of company stock valued at $3,912,512. 0.47% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Williams Companies Company 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WMB? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.