Stephens Inc. AR Acquires 13,438 Shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Key Points

• Stephens Inc. AR increased its stake in Williams Companies by 8.9% in the fourth quarter, buying 13,438 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 164,900 shares worth about $9.9 million.
• Williams beat earnings expectations in its latest quarterly report, posting $0.73 EPS versus $0.63 estimated, while also reaffirming FY 2026 guidance and maintaining strong profitability metrics.
• The company continues to reward shareholders with a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, equal to an annualized yield of 2.7%, though its payout ratio is high at 92.11%.

Stephens Inc. AR raised its holdings in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 8.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 164,900 shares of the pipeline company's stock after acquiring an additional 13,438 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $9,912,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Towne Trust Company N.A grew its position in Williams Companies by 60.2% during the fourth quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 431 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. WHI TRUST Co LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in Williams Companies during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Turning Point Benefit Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the third quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 99.7% during the second quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 767 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 383 shares during the period. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of WMB stock opened at $77.77 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $73.23 and a 200 day moving average of $66.73. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $55.82 and a 52 week high of $78.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $95.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.11, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.10. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 18.34% and a net margin of 23.39%.The company had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.60 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.380 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 12th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 92.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on WMB shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Truist Financial started coverage on Williams Companies in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. They set a "buy" rating and a $84.00 price objective for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $80.47.

Williams Companies News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Williams reported better-than-expected Q1 earnings, with adjusted EPS topping estimates, and management reaffirmed full-year guidance while also raising its dividend by 5%, reinforcing the company’s income appeal. A Look At Williams Companies (WMB) Valuation After Q1 2026 Beat And New Power Project Announcements
• Positive Sentiment: Investor focus has also turned to Williams’ new power-project announcements and CEO comments about a “unique solution” for lowering utility bills, which may be helping the stock’s growth story. Williams CEO outlines 'unique solution' for lowering utility bills
• Neutral Sentiment: A recent valuation comparison with Ultrapar Participacoes (UGP) kept WMB in the spotlight, but it was largely a comparative analysis rather than a clear company-specific catalyst. UGP vs. WMB: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?
• Negative Sentiment: COO Larry C. Larsen sold 12,000 shares in an SEC-disclosed transaction, which can sometimes pressure sentiment even though the sale represents only a portion of his holdings. SEC Form 4 filing for Larry C. Larsen

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Todd J. Rinke sold 7,364 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.39, for a total transaction of $547,807.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 26,055 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,938,231.45. This trade represents a 22.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.35, for a total value of $152,700.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 287,159 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,924,589.65. 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 115,369 shares of company stock valued at $8,618,692 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.47% of the company's stock.

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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