Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Buys New Shares in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management initiated a position in Williams Companies by purchasing 111,133 shares valued at approximately $8.26 million. Institutional investors collectively own 86.44% of the company.
• Williams reported quarterly EPS of $0.50, in line with estimates, while revenue of $3.05 billion beat expectations and rose 9.8% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, representing an annualized payout of $2.10 and a 3.0% yield; analysts maintain a consensus “Buy” rating with an average price target of $85.60.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 111,133 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $8,262,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in 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 increased its position in shares of Williams Companies by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 568,928 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $35,734,000 after purchasing an additional 11,926 shares during the last quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC increased its position in shares of Williams Companies by 3.0% in 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 last quarter. 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:WMB opened at $70.71 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $73.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $73.18. Williams Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $56.08 and a twelve 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 P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.59.

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

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In other news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 13,000 shares of the business'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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 268,159 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,077,064.33. The trade was a 4.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders sold a total of 17,000 shares of company stock worth $1,262,930 in the last 90 days. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Williams Companies News Summary

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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WMB shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Williams Companies from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $82.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective 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, Scotiabank increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Three equities research 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $85.60.

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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