M.D. Sass LLC Has $80.53 Million Stake in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Key Points

• M.D. Sass LLC increased its stake in Williams Companies by 12.3% in the fourth quarter, holding 1,339,634 shares worth about $80.5 million. The stock now makes up roughly 6.3% of the fund’s portfolio and is its second-largest holding.
• Williams Companies posted stronger-than-expected earnings for the latest quarter, reporting $0.73 per share versus the $0.63 consensus estimate, though revenue came in below expectations at $3.03 billion. The company also guided FY2026 EPS at 2.20 to 2.38.
• Analysts and institutions remain broadly bullish on WMB, with several firms raising price targets and the stock carrying an average “Buy” rating. Institutional ownership is high at 86.44%, and the company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share.

M.D. Sass LLC increased its stake in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 12.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,339,634 shares of the pipeline company's stock after buying an additional 146,734 shares during the quarter. Williams Companies comprises approximately 6.3% of M.D. Sass LLC's holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. M.D. Sass LLC owned approximately 0.11% of Williams Companies worth $80,525,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Williams Companies by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 133,963,343 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $8,052,537,000 after buying an additional 883,245 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Williams Companies by 15.9% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 48,586,299 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $3,077,942,000 after buying an additional 6,668,950 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Williams Companies by 1.1% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 14,575,898 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $923,383,000 after buying an additional 158,077 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth $747,749,000. Finally, BROOKFIELD Corp ON lifted its position in Williams Companies by 190.3% in the second quarter. BROOKFIELD Corp ON now owns 12,028,186 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $755,490,000 after buying an additional 7,884,730 shares during the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Williams Companies Stock Up 1.7%

NYSE:WMB opened at $71.23 on Wednesday. Williams Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $55.82 and a twelve month high of $80.07. The company has a market cap of $87.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $73.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $68.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.28 billion. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 18.34% and a net margin of 23.39%.The business's revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.60 earnings per share. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.380 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.46 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 29th. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th will be issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. Williams Companies's payout ratio is presently 92.11%.

More Williams Companies News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Argus raised its price target on Williams Companies, highlighting the company’s large role in U.S. natural gas infrastructure and its position among the better-liked energy stocks, which can reinforce investor confidence. The Williams Companies (WMB) Price Target Raised by $2 at Argus
• Positive Sentiment: Broader midstream and gas-infrastructure coverage has been constructive, citing robust gas backlogs, LNG export growth, and rising power demand from data centers as tailwinds for natural-gas-focused pipeline companies like WMB. Midstream: Robust Gas Backlogs Drive Growth Visibility
• Positive Sentiment: A Zacks article compared WMB favorably as a value stock versus peer Ultrapar, which may help keep valuation-focused investors interested. UGP or WMB: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?
• Neutral Sentiment: The company expanded funding flexibility by adding new credit lines and filing a shelf registration, which gives Williams more financial optionality but also raises the possibility of future share issuance. Williams Companies Expands Funding Options With New Credit Lines And Equity Shelf
• Negative Sentiment: US Capital Advisors trimmed earnings estimates for several future periods, including FY2027 and FY2028, which can pressure sentiment if investors view the cuts as a sign of slower profit growth ahead. Williams Companies research notes and estimates

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WMB. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Truist Financial began coverage on Williams Companies in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. They set a "buy" rating and a $84.00 target price for the company. UBS Group lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $89.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $82.40.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In related news, SVP Payvand Fazel sold 2,898 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.15, for a total value of $211,988.70. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 31,766 shares in the company, valued at $2,323,682.90. The trade was a 8.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 12,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.48, for a total value of $917,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 98,219 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,511,789.12. The trade was a 10.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 78,762 shares of company stock valued at $5,937,632 over the last three months. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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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