Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. Invests $4.12 Million in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Key Points

• Sumitomo Life Insurance acquired 55,380 shares of Williams Companies during the second quarter, worth approximately $4.12 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 86.44% of WMB.
• Williams reported quarterly earnings of $0.50 per share, in line with estimates, while revenue rose 9.8% year over year to $3.05 billion, exceeding expectations. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.525, equating to a 3.0% annualized yield.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $85.60; Morgan Stanley raised its target to $103. However, analysts lowered several 2027–2028 earnings forecasts, and an insider recently sold 13,000 shares.

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. acquired a new position in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 55,380 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $4,117,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMB. Main Street Group LTD acquired a new position in Williams Companies during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Allied Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC increased its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 62.2% during the 4th quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 485 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Williams Companies from $87.00 to $85.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Wall Street Zen cut Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Williams Companies from $99.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $85.60.

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.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 13,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.87, for a total transaction of $973,310.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 268,159 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,077,064.33. This represents a 4.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In the last three months, insiders sold 17,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,262,930. Insiders own 0.47% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WMB opened at $70.71 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $86.49 billion, a PE ratio of 28.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.58. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $56.08 and a 12 month high of $80.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 0.48 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $73.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $73.13.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The pipeline company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50. The business had revenue of $3.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.83 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 25.17% and a return on equity of 18.49%. The company's revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.46 earnings per share. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.350-2.350 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.48 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, September 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Williams Companies's payout ratio is 83.67%.

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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