Conning Inc. Purchases 53,003 Shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Key Points

• Conning increased its Williams Companies position by 11.3% in the third quarter, purchasing 53,003 shares and bringing its holdings to 522,423 shares valued at approximately $35.5 million. Institutional investors collectively own 86.44% of WMB.
• Williams reported quarterly revenue of $3.05 billion, above expectations, while earnings of $0.50 per share matched estimates; revenue rose 9.8% year over year. Analysts maintain a consensus “Buy” rating with an average price target of $86.06.
• The company maintained its quarterly dividend at $0.525 per share, equivalent to a 2.8% annualized yield, while insiders sold 19,000 shares worth about $1.4 million over the past 90 days.

Conning Inc. grew its position in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 522,423 shares of the pipeline company's stock after buying an additional 53,003 shares during the period. Conning Inc.'s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $35,509,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Arrow Financial Corp raised its holdings in Williams Companies by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Arrow Financial Corp now owns 31,010 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $2,108,000 after acquiring an additional 890 shares during the last quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. boosted its stake in Williams Companies by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. now owns 151,724 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $10,313,000 after purchasing an additional 2,906 shares during the last quarter. Graham Capital Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Williams Companies by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Graham Capital Wealth Management LLC now owns 47,668 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $3,240,000 after purchasing an additional 2,019 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Williams Companies by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 608,467 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $41,358,000 after purchasing an additional 4,573 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lynch Investment Planning LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 3rd quarter worth $88,000. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: WMB recently moved above both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, signaling improving short-term and long-term momentum. These breakouts may attract technical traders and reinforce the view that the stock has established support near current levels. WMB 50-day moving average article WMB 200-day moving average article
• Positive Sentiment: Unusual options activity points to bullish positioning: investors purchased about 151,361 WMB call options, roughly 997% above typical call volume. Options activity is speculative, but it suggests increased expectations for further gains. WMB options and moving average article
• Positive Sentiment: Investors are looking ahead to third-quarter results, with the Socrates Phase 1 project, the Momentum acquisition and strong natural-gas demand identified as potential growth drivers. Williams’ fee-based pipeline model also makes it a relatively defensive energy holding, including for power demand from data centers. Williams Q3 earnings preview
• Neutral Sentiment: Williams declared a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, payable December 28 to shareholders of record December 11. The $2.10 annualized payout represents a yield of approximately 2.8%, but the dividend was maintained rather than increased. Williams quarterly dividend announcement
• Negative Sentiment: Rising interest rates could pressure WMB’s valuation and increase financing costs, particularly given its relatively high leverage. Higher yields may also make the company’s dividend less attractive compared with cash and other income investments, while rising operating costs remain a risk ahead of earnings.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Terrance Wilson sold 13,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.87, for a total value of $973,310.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 268,159 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,077,064.33. This trade represents a 4.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 19,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,401,430 over the last 90 days. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Williams Companies Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE:WMB opened at $74.23 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $56.19 and a 12 month high of $80.07. The company has a market cap of $90.79 billion, a PE ratio of 29.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $72.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.13.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The pipeline company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.50. The firm had revenue of $3.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.83 billion. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 18.49% and a net margin of 25.17%. The company's revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.46 EPS. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.350-2.350 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 11th will be issued a $0.5250 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 11th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 83.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Williams Companies from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Williams Companies from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on Williams Companies from $86.00 to $85.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Williams Companies from $88.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $99.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $86.06.

About Williams Companies

The Williams Companies, Inc is an energy infrastructure company headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Founded in 1908 as Williams Brothers, the company has evolved from an early pipeline contractor into a major operator of natural gas infrastructure in the United States.

Williams primarily gathers, processes, transports and stores natural gas and natural gas liquids. Its assets include interstate and regional pipelines, gas processing and fractionation facilities, storage operations, and gathering systems that connect producers with utilities, industrial customers, power generators and other energy markets.

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