Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Buys 352,449 Shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Key Points

• Pictet Asset Management raised its stake in Williams by 9.4%, buying 352,449 shares to own 4,099,081 shares (about 0.34% of the company) valued at roughly $246.4 million at quarter-end.
• Insiders have been selling: 53,369 shares worth $3.91 million were sold over the last 90 days (insider ownership ~0.47%), including recent sales by CAO Mary Hausman and SVP Terrance Lane Wilson.
• Dividend and outlook: Williams raised its quarterly dividend to $0.525 (annualized $2.10, yield ~2.9%) with a high payout ratio (~98.1%), while management set FY2026 EPS guidance of 2.20–2.38 and analysts hold a consensus Buy rating with a $78.60 target.

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its stake in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 9.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,099,081 shares of the pipeline company's stock after acquiring an additional 352,449 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned about 0.34% of Williams Companies worth $246,393,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Inscription Capital LLC increased its position in Williams Companies by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Inscription Capital LLC now owns 13,334 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $802,000 after acquiring an additional 829 shares during the period. Simon Quick Advisors LLC increased its position in Williams Companies by 43.1% during the fourth quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 98,066 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $5,895,000 after acquiring an additional 29,517 shares during the period. Facet Wealth Inc. bought a new position in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth $246,000. Huntleigh Advisors Inc. increased its position in Williams Companies by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Huntleigh Advisors Inc. now owns 14,264 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $857,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares during the period. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its position in Williams Companies by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 498,575 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $29,969,000 after acquiring an additional 11,076 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 10,107 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.91, for a total value of $757,115.37. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 17,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,290,699.30. The trade was a 36.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.75, for a total transaction of $143,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 289,159 shares in the company, valued at $20,747,158.25. This represents a 0.69% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 53,369 shares of company stock worth $3,912,512 over the last 90 days. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Williams Companies Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:WMB opened at $72.15 on Monday. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $55.82 and a 52 week high of $76.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.53. The company's fifty day moving average is $73.03 and its 200-day moving average is $65.61. The company has a market capitalization of $88.13 billion, a PE ratio of 33.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 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 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.57 by ($0.02). Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.90% and a return on equity of 17.32%. The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.47 EPS. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.380 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. This is a boost from Williams Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 98.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on WMB shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Williams Companies from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $82.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $78.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Zacks Research raised shares of Williams Companies from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Williams Companies from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, April 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $78.60.

Williams Companies Company 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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