Connors Investor Services Inc. Purchases 60,162 Shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Key Points

• Connors Investor Services boosted its stake in Williams Companies by 26.2%, adding 60,162 shares to own 289,427 shares worth about $18.34 million, and institutional investors now own roughly 86.44% of the stock.
• Williams increased its quarterly dividend to $0.525 (from $0.50), implying a $2.10 annualized payout and a ~2.9% yield, though the dividend payout ratio is high at ~98%.
• The company reported $0.55 EPS (missing by $0.02) and $3.20B revenue (beats), set FY2026 guidance of $2.20–$2.38 EPS, and analysts have raised price targets—MarketBeat shows a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a $76.50 target.

Connors Investor Services Inc. increased its position in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 26.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 289,427 shares of the pipeline company's stock after acquiring an additional 60,162 shares during the period. Williams Companies comprises approximately 1.6% of Connors Investor Services Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest position. Connors Investor Services Inc.'s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $18,335,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Williams Companies by 3.1% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,540,556 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $287,644,000 after buying an additional 134,777 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors raised its position in Williams Companies by 185.6% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 43,069 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $2,728,000 after acquiring an additional 27,987 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 9.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 184,123 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $11,664,000 after acquiring an additional 16,027 shares during the last quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Williams Companies by 75.9% during the 3rd quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC now owns 125,290 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $7,937,000 after acquiring an additional 54,057 shares during the period. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp grew its position in shares of Williams Companies by 3,344.8% during the 3rd quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 17,465 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,106,000 after acquiring an additional 16,958 shares during the period. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams Companies Stock Down 0.3%

WMB opened at $73.68 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.53. Williams Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $51.58 and a fifty-two week high of $76.87. The firm's fifty day moving average is $68.83 and its 200 day moving average is $63.28. The stock has a market cap of $90.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.63.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The pipeline company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.57 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the company posted $0.47 EPS. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.380 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This is an increase from Williams Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 98.13%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.24, for a total transaction of $150,480.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 291,159 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,906,803.16. This trade represents a 0.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 10,107 shares of the business's 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 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 51,369 shares of company stock worth $3,769,012 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group upped their price objective on Williams Companies from $78.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Williams Companies from $70.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Tudor Pickering upgraded Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Williams Companies from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Williams Companies from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $76.50.

Williams Companies 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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