Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Reduces Position in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lowered its stake in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 13.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 593,234 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 91,007 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $35,659,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 3.1% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,540,556 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $287,644,000 after purchasing an additional 134,777 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Williams Companies by 9.5% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 184,123 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $11,664,000 after purchasing an additional 16,027 shares during the last quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Williams Companies by 75.9% during the third quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC now owns 125,290 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $7,937,000 after buying an additional 54,057 shares during the period. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp lifted its position in Williams Companies by 3,344.8% during the third quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 17,465 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,106,000 after buying an additional 16,958 shares during the period. Finally, Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $4,627,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Zacks Research raised shares of Williams Companies from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $78.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $84.00 price target on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $78.60.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Todd J. Rinke sold 7,364 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.39, for a total value of $547,807.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 26,055 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,938,231.45. This represents a 22.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 27,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.92, for a total transaction of $1,968,840.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 293,159 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,377,154.28. The trade was a 8.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 53,369 shares of company stock valued at $3,932,432. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Williams Companies Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of Williams Companies stock opened at $76.09 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $73.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83. Williams Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $55.82 and a twelve month high of $77.41. The stock has a market cap of $92.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.61.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.28 billion. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 18.42% and a net margin of 23.39%.The company's revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.60 earnings per share. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.380 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

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

Trending Headlines about Williams Companies

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 EPS beat and margin strength — Williams reported $0.73 EPS (above consensus) and strong net margin/ROE, which supports valuation and cash-flow confidence. Williams beats quarterly profit estimates on higher natural gas demand
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend hike — Board approved a 5% increase to the quarterly dividend (to $0.525), signaling management’s confidence in cash flow and boosting income investor demand. Does Williams Dividend Hike Reveal a Deeper Shift
• Positive Sentiment: Project execution / pipeline progress — Management said the first phase of the Aristotle pipeline is complete and other pipeline expansions were placed in service, supporting fee-based revenues and long-term contracted capacity. Williams Q1 2026 Earnings Transcript
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst & thematic support — Recent coverage and sector pieces highlight WMB’s exposure to rising natural‑gas demand and a robust project backlog, helping sentiment around the stock. Williams: Opportunity Rich in Power, Natural Gas
• Neutral Sentiment: FY2026 guidance given (EPS $2.20–$2.38) — Range overlaps consensus; midpoint is slightly conservative versus some estimates, leaving room for upside or downside interpretation. Williams Q1 2026 Press Release & Guidance
• Neutral Sentiment: Shareholders approved expanded equity compensation plans — could support retention and incentives long-term but may be viewed as modestly dilutive by some investors. Shareholders approve expanded equity compensation plans
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue miss — Q1 revenue of ~$3.03B fell short of the roughly $3.27–3.28B consensus, which could temper upside if top-line trends don’t reaccelerate. Q1 Earnings: Key Metrics Versus Estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Options activity and insider selling — Unusual rise in put-option volume (short-term bearish bet) and a small SVP sale (2,000 shares) can create near-term attention and volatility. (Options flow reported May 5; insider filing disclosed May 5.) 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WMB? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.