Aventail Capital Group LP Cuts Stake in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Key Points

• Aventail Capital Group LP reduced its stake in Williams by 35.7%, selling 181,957 shares in Q3 and ending the period with 327,971 shares valued at about $20.78 million.
• Insider selling has been active recently — insiders disposed of 48,471 shares in the last 90 days (including CAO Mary Hausman and SVP Todd Rinke), leaving insiders with just 0.44% ownership.
• Williams raised its quarterly dividend to $0.525 (annualized $2.10, ~2.9% yield) and has received multiple analyst upgrades and higher price targets (Wells Fargo at $89), though the dividend payout ratio is high (~98%).

Aventail Capital Group LP lowered its holdings in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 35.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 327,971 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 181,957 shares during the period. Aventail Capital Group LP's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $20,777,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMB. LRI Investments LLC boosted its position in Williams Companies by 8.8% during the third 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 grew its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 1.7% during the third quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 11,087 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $702,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 1.9% in the third quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC now owns 10,420 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $660,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the period. Gentry Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 199 shares during the period. Finally, Tradewinds Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 2,425 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $154,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 10,107 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.91, for a total value of $757,115.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 17,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,290,699.30. This represents a 36.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Todd J. Rinke sold 7,364 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.39, for a total transaction of $547,807.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 26,055 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,938,231.45. This trade represents a 22.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 48,471 shares of company stock valued at $3,557,023. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

More Williams Companies News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo upgraded WMB to “overweight” and raised its price target from $80 to $89 — a clear institutional bullish signal that can attract buying interest. Wells Fargo raises WMB price target
• Positive Sentiment: Large call‑option flow: traders bought ~140,820 WMB call contracts (>> typical daily call volume), suggesting short‑term bullish positioning or speculative bets that can amplify upside volatility.
• Positive Sentiment: Broker support: Raymond James reiterated a buy stance, reinforcing institutional confidence and helping sustain demand from fund managers. Raymond James sticks to buy
• Positive Sentiment: Industry tailwind: analysts highlight rising natural‑gas demand from AI/data‑center growth, a structural driver for pipeline throughput and long‑term cash flow improvement. Data center demand boosts natural gas outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Post‑earnings momentum: commentary notes WMB is up roughly 4.6% since the last earnings report; useful context on recent strength but not a stand‑alone catalyst. Can the rally continue?
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend increase: WMB raised its quarterly payout to $0.525 (annualized $2.10), boosting yield and income appeal—but note the payout ratio is high, which limits optionality. MarketBeat WMB overview
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: SVP Todd J. Rinke sold 7,364 shares (~22% reduction of his prior incremental position), a potential signal of profit‑taking or rebalancing that can weigh on near‑term sentiment. SEC filing for insider sale

Williams Companies Trading Down 0.2%

WMB opened at $73.35 on Friday. Williams Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $51.58 and a one year high of $76.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 0.53 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $68.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $63.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.27, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.63.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The pipeline company reported $0.55 earnings per share 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 quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.47 earnings per share. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.380 EPS. Analysts predict that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The business 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 $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. This is an increase from Williams Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 98.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on WMB. Tudor Pickering upgraded Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Williams Companies from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Williams Companies from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $76.50.

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.

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