Corient Private Wealth LP Increases Holdings in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Key Points

• Corient Private Wealth increased its Williams Companies stake by 9.0% in the second quarter, adding 87,740 shares to hold 1.06 million shares valued at approximately $79.0 million. Institutional investors collectively own 86.44% of WMB.
• Williams reported quarterly EPS of $0.50, in line with estimates, while revenue rose 9.8% year over year to $3.05 billion. Analysts maintain a generally positive view, with an average “Buy” rating and an $85.67 price target.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of approximately $0.525 per share, but a court ruling reversing a key water permit for its NESE pipeline creates a regulatory risk that could delay the project or increase costs.

Corient Private Wealth LP increased its position in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 9.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,062,982 shares of the pipeline company's stock after purchasing an additional 87,740 shares during the quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP owned approximately 0.09% of Williams Companies worth $79,022,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 40.9% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 13,680 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $740,000 after acquiring an additional 3,969 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Williams Companies by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,635 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $291,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its holdings in Williams Companies by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 568,928 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $35,734,000 after acquiring an additional 11,926 shares in the last quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC increased its position in Williams Companies by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 10,248 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $644,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the period. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 160.1% in the 2nd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 165,035 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $10,366,000 after purchasing an additional 101,574 shares in the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Williams Companies

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

• Positive Sentiment: Williams announced a quarterly cash dividend of $0.53 per share, payable September 28 to eligible shareholders. The payment reinforces the company’s income appeal, although the September 11 ex-dividend date can also create a mechanical downward adjustment in the share price. Williams Companies Inc's Dividend Analysis
• Positive Sentiment: Stifel initiated coverage with a Buy rating and an $85 price target, implying meaningful upside from recent trading levels. Stifel coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Scotiabank maintained a Sector Outperform rating and reduced its target only modestly, from $86 to $85. The continued bullish rating suggests analysts see value despite the adjustment.
• Neutral Sentiment: Growing LNG, NGL and crude-oil export demand is driving increased midstream mergers and acquisitions. The trend could improve the industry’s infrastructure outlook, but the article does not identify a direct transaction involving Williams. Export and power demand drive M&A wave
• Neutral Sentiment: Options activity was unusually high, with investors purchasing 17,029 put contracts—54% above average. This signals increased hedging or bearish positioning, but it does not necessarily predict the stock’s direction.
• Negative Sentiment: A court ruling reversed a key water permit for Williams’ NESE pipeline, creating another regulatory obstacle. Delays or additional costs could weaken the project’s expected growth contribution and are likely the most significant source of near-term pressure. Williams NESE pipeline court ruling
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent commentary highlights Williams’ competitive position in the Northeast, while another report compares its performance with the Dow; neither item provides a clearly new earnings or valuation catalyst. Williams tackles the Northeast

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WMB. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Williams Companies from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Williams Companies from $88.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Williams Companies currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $85.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In related news, SVP Terrance Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.56, for a total transaction of $151,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 264,259 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,967,410.04. This trade represents a 0.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 19,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,414,050 in the last quarter. 0.47% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Williams Companies Trading Down 0.0%

NYSE:WMB opened at $72.80 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $89.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.00, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.59. 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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $73.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $73.56.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The pipeline company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 18.49% and a net margin of 25.17%.The firm had revenue of $3.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.83 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.46 earnings per share. Williams Companies's revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.350-2.350 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 83.67%.

About Williams Companies

Williams Companies, Inc is an energy infrastructure company focused primarily on gathering, processing, transporting and storing natural gas and natural gas liquids. The company provides the infrastructure and related services that connect natural gas supplies with utilities, power generators, industrial customers, liquefied natural gas facilities and other markets.

Williams operates a large network of interstate and regional natural gas pipelines, gathering systems, processing facilities and storage assets across the United States.

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