QRG Capital Management Inc. Purchases 15,197 Shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Key Points

• QRG Capital Management raised its stake in Williams by 17.4% during Q4, buying 15,197 shares to hold 102,639 shares worth about $6.17 million, while institutional investors own roughly 86.44% of the stock.
• Q1 update: Williams beat EPS estimates ($0.73 vs. $0.63) but missed revenue ($3.03B vs. ~$3.28B), issued FY2026 guidance of $2.20–$2.38 EPS, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.525 (annualized $2.10, ~2.8% yield; payout ratio ~92%).
• Insiders have sold 53,369 shares over the past three months (including an SVP sale of 27,000 shares), while analysts remain largely positive with a consensus Buy rating and an average price target of $78.93 following multiple upgrades.

QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 17.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 102,639 shares of the pipeline company's stock after buying an additional 15,197 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $6,170,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WMB. Truist Financial Corp raised its holdings in Williams Companies by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 1,909,009 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $114,751,000 after buying an additional 50,001 shares in the last quarter. Amplify Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 21.4% during the 4th quarter. Amplify Investments LLC now owns 6,817 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $400,000 after acquiring an additional 1,203 shares during the last quarter. Aurora Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $252,000. Sandro Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $339,000. Finally, Composition Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Williams Companies by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Composition Wealth LLC now owns 8,102 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $487,000 after purchasing an additional 527 shares during the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 27,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.92, for a total value of $1,968,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 293,159 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,377,154.28. This represents a 8.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 10,107 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.91, for a total value of $757,115.37. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 17,230 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,290,699.30. This represents a 36.97% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 53,369 shares of company stock valued at $3,932,432. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. They set a "buy" rating and a $84.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Friday, March 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Williams Companies from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $82.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Williams Companies from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $78.93.

Williams Companies Price Performance

NYSE:WMB opened at $73.86 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.48. Williams Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $55.82 and a one year high of $77.41. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $73.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.08. The stock has a market cap of $90.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.39, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.61.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.10. Williams Companies had a net margin of 23.39% and a return on equity of 18.34%. The company had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.28 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.60 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.380 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 29th. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. Williams Companies's payout ratio is currently 92.11%.

More Williams Companies News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 EPS beat — Williams reported $0.73 EPS, topping estimates and showing cash‑generation strength, which supports the dividend and buyback optionality. WMB Beats Q1 Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Structural demand tailwinds — Multiple recent pieces highlight rising natural‑gas demand from AI data centers, power markets and LNG, which underpin Williams’s long‑term fee‑based cash flows and project backlog. Williams Eyes 13% Upside on AI Data Center Boom
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend & project execution — Board approved a 5% raise to the quarterly payout and management has placed new pipeline capacity into service, reducing volume risk and supporting steady distributable cash flow. How Williams Is Cashing in on the AI Power Boom
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst upgrades/price‑target lifts — Firms including Stifel and others have raised targets (Stifel to $83) and reiterated buy ratings, supporting sentiment but not introducing new company fundamentals. Benzinga (Stifel note)
• Neutral Sentiment: FY2026 guidance provided — Management set EPS guidance of $2.20–$2.38; the range overlaps consensus and leaves room for debate on FY momentum, so investors are parsing the midpoint vs. sell‑side models. Q1 2026 Press Release & Guidance
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue miss — Q1 revenue came in below consensus ($3.03B vs. ~$3.27B), which tempers the EPS beat and raises questions about near‑term volume trends. Williams Q1 Revenue vs Estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Unusual options/insider activity — Elevated put buying and a small SVP sale have drawn attention and likely contributed to short‑term volatility, even though the insider transaction was modest in size. Insider Sale Filing

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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