Bokf Na increased its position in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 5.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 354,065 shares of the pipeline company's stock after buying an additional 19,531 shares during the period. Bokf Na's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $21,283,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WMB. Birch Capital Management LLC grew its position in Williams Companies by 13.8% in the 4th quarter. Birch Capital Management LLC now owns 17,355 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,043,000 after purchasing an additional 2,109 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Williams Companies by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,824,348 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $109,662,000 after purchasing an additional 133,977 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Williams Companies by 17.4% in the 4th quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 102,639 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $6,170,000 after purchasing an additional 15,197 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp grew its position in Williams Companies by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 1,909,009 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $114,751,000 after purchasing an additional 50,001 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amplify Investments LLC grew its position in Williams Companies by 21.4% in the 4th quarter. Amplify Investments LLC now owns 6,817 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $400,000 after purchasing an additional 1,203 shares during the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several analysts have issued reports on WMB shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $78.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Williams Companies from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $82.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Williams Companies from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, April 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $78.60.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on WMB
Williams Companies Trading Up 0.9%
Shares of WMB stock opened at $76.09 on Wednesday. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $55.82 and a 52-week high of $77.41. The stock has a market cap of $92.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.53. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $73.21 and a 200-day moving average of $66.00.
Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Williams Companies had a net margin of 23.39% and a return on equity of 18.42%. The company had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.60 EPS. The business's revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.380 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Williams Companies Announces Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 29th. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 92.11%.
Key Headlines Impacting Williams Companies
Here are the key news stories impacting Williams Companies this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Q1 EPS beat and margin strength — Williams reported $0.73 EPS (above consensus) and strong net margin/ROE, which supports valuation and cash-flow confidence. Williams beats quarterly profit estimates on higher natural gas demand
- Positive Sentiment: Dividend hike — Board approved a 5% increase to the quarterly dividend (to $0.525), signaling management’s confidence in cash flow and boosting income investor demand. Does Williams Dividend Hike Reveal a Deeper Shift
- Positive Sentiment: Project execution / pipeline progress — Management said the first phase of the Aristotle pipeline is complete and other pipeline expansions were placed in service, supporting fee-based revenues and long-term contracted capacity. Williams Q1 2026 Earnings Transcript
- Positive Sentiment: Analyst & thematic support — Recent coverage and sector pieces highlight WMB’s exposure to rising natural‑gas demand and a robust project backlog, helping sentiment around the stock. Williams: Opportunity Rich in Power, Natural Gas
- Neutral Sentiment: FY2026 guidance given (EPS $2.20–$2.38) — Range overlaps consensus; midpoint is slightly conservative versus some estimates, leaving room for upside or downside interpretation. Williams Q1 2026 Press Release & Guidance
- Neutral Sentiment: Shareholders approved expanded equity compensation plans — could support retention and incentives long-term but may be viewed as modestly dilutive by some investors. Shareholders approve expanded equity compensation plans
- Negative Sentiment: Revenue miss — Q1 revenue of ~$3.03B fell short of the roughly $3.27–3.28B consensus, which could temper upside if top-line trends don’t reaccelerate. Q1 Earnings: Key Metrics Versus Estimates
- Negative Sentiment: Options activity and insider selling — Unusual rise in put-option volume (short-term bearish bet) and a small SVP sale (2,000 shares) can create near-term attention and volatility. (Options flow reported May 5; insider filing disclosed May 5.) Insider Sale Filing
Insider Activity
In related news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 10,107 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.91, for a total transaction of $757,115.37. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 17,230 shares in the company, valued at $1,290,699.30. This trade represents a 36.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Payvand Fazel sold 2,898 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.15, for a total transaction of $211,988.70. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 31,766 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,323,682.90. This trade represents a 8.36% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 53,369 shares of company stock worth $3,932,432. Company insiders own 0.47% of the company's stock.
About Williams Companies
(
Free Report)
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.
Further Reading

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