Royal Bank of Canada Sells 1,303,214 Shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Royal Bank of Canada lessened its stake in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 9.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,128,639 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 1,303,214 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned approximately 0.99% of Williams Companies worth $882,725,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WMB. Norges Bank bought a new position in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $747,749,000. BROOKFIELD Corp ON raised its holdings in shares of 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 period. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 21.3% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 21,325,482 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,281,875,000 after buying an additional 3,748,126 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Williams Companies by 295.7% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,446,915 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $268,723,000 after purchasing an additional 3,323,012 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 33,572,067 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $2,018,017,000 after purchasing an additional 3,314,851 shares during the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Williams Companies News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street expects Williams’ June 2026 quarter, due August 3, to show year-over-year revenue and earnings growth. The company has an Earnings ESP of 7.95%, indicating that the most accurate analyst estimate is above consensus and raising the possibility of an earnings beat. Williams Companies Draws Earnings Optimism
• Positive Sentiment: Williams announced a quarterly cash dividend, reinforcing the income appeal of its midstream, largely contracted pipeline business. Midstream companies’ durable free-cash-flow generation continues to support dividend growth and share repurchases. Williams Announces Quarterly Cash Dividend Midstream and MLP Free Cash Flow
• Neutral Sentiment: Williams has returned approximately 257% over five years, but the strong run has prompted investors to question whether much of the company’s future growth is already reflected in the share price. The analysis characterizes WMB as fully valued rather than clearly inexpensive. Williams Stock Looks Fully Valued
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts remain focused on whether Williams’ gas-infrastructure strategy and contracted cash flows can deliver the expected long-term growth. The company is scheduled to release results after the August 3 close, followed by an investor call on August 4. Williams as a Steady Hand as Crude Swings
• Negative Sentiment: Retreating crude oil and natural-gas prices have pressured the broader energy sector, while investors have taken a cautious stance ahead of earnings. Recent insider activity also showed sales without reported purchases, which may add to short-term sentiment concerns. Why Williams Stock Is Down

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on WMB shares. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $88.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Williams Companies from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $83.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Glen G. Jasek sold 2,500 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.15, for a total transaction of $195,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 54,101 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,227,993.15. This trade represents a 4.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO John Dean Porter sold 50,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.37, for a total transaction of $3,768,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 196,567 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,815,254.79. This trade represents a 20.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 68,500 shares of company stock worth $5,182,655. Corporate insiders own 0.47% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Trading Down 0.8%

NYSE WMB opened at $70.24 on Wednesday. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $55.82 and a 12-month high of $80.07. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $73.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99. The stock has a market cap of $85.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.57.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.10. Williams Companies had a net margin of 23.39% and a return on equity of 18.34%. The firm had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.60 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.380 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 92.11%.

Williams Companies 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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