D.B. Root & Company LLC Makes New Investment in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Key Points

• D.B. Root & Company LLC acquired 17,956 Williams Companies shares worth approximately $1.34 million in the second quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 86.44% of the pipeline operator.
• Williams reported quarterly EPS of $0.50, in line with estimates, while revenue reached $3.05 billion—9.8% higher year over year and above expectations. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.525, representing a 3.0% annualized yield.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with an average “Buy” rating and a $85.60 target price, although some firms lowered future EPS forecasts. An insider also sold 13,000 shares for approximately $973,000.

D.B. Root & Company LLC bought a new stake in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 17,956 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $1,335,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $747,749,000. BROOKFIELD Corp ON increased its stake in Williams Companies by 190.3% in the 2nd quarter. BROOKFIELD Corp ON now owns 12,028,186 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $755,490,000 after purchasing an additional 7,884,730 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $500,305,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the second quarter worth $354,184,000. Finally, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at about $329,094,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 13,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.87, for a total transaction of $973,310.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 268,159 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,077,064.33. This represents a 4.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 17,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,262,930 over the last 90 days. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of Williams Companies stock opened at $70.71 on Monday. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $56.08 and a 12 month high of $80.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83. The company has a market capitalization of $86.49 billion, a PE ratio of 28.17, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.59. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $73.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.18.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The pipeline company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.50. The firm had revenue of $3.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.83 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 25.17% and a return on equity of 18.49%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.46 EPS. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.350-2.350 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.45 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 28th. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 83.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WMB. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Williams Companies from $87.00 to $85.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $82.00 price objective on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $88.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $85.60.

Key Williams Companies News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley raised its price target for Williams Companies to $103, signaling substantial potential upside from recent trading levels and providing a constructive counterpoint to the earnings estimate cuts. Morgan Stanley Increases Williams Companies Price Target to $103
• Neutral Sentiment: The company’s latest reported quarter was solid: Williams earned $0.50 per share, matching consensus, while revenue of $3.05 billion exceeded expectations and increased 9.8% year over year. Its fee-based pipeline operations provide relatively stable cash flows.
• Negative Sentiment: US Capital Advisors lowered its EPS forecasts across several periods, including fourth-quarter 2026 EPS to $0.57 from $0.60, first-quarter 2027 EPS to $0.55 from $0.59, second-quarter 2027 EPS to $0.40 from $0.48, and third-quarter 2027 EPS to $0.50 from $0.55.
• Negative Sentiment: The firm also reduced its full-year 2027 EPS estimate to $2.07 from $2.28 and its 2028 forecast to $2.67 from $2.86. These revisions suggest analysts see weaker near- to medium-term earnings growth than previously expected and are likely the main reason the stock has decreased.

About Williams Companies

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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