Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 108,602 Shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Key Points

• Victory Capital Management sold 108,602 shares of Williams (an 8.8% reduction), leaving it with 1,123,903 shares valued at about $71.2M (≈0.09% ownership) per the latest 13F filing.
• Williams raised its quarterly dividend to $0.525 ($2.10 annualized) for a 2.8% yield, with an ex-dividend date of March 13 and a high dividend payout ratio of 93.46%.
• The company posted Q results of $0.55 EPS (missed by $0.02) and $3.20B revenue (beat), set FY2026 guidance of $2.20–$2.38 EPS versus analyst consensus ~ $2.08, and retains a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" (target ~$75.86).

Victory Capital Management Inc. lowered its position in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 8.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,123,903 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 108,602 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.09% of Williams Companies worth $71,199,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WMB. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies during the second quarter worth $29,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies during the third quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Aspect Partners LLC grew its stake in Williams Companies by 81.3% in the second quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 582 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares during the period. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Williams Companies Trading Down 1.3%

WMB stock opened at $74.75 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 0.53 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The company has a market capitalization of $91.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.93, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.63. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $66.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $62.28. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $51.58 and a 1-year high of $76.87.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The pipeline company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.57 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.10 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.90% and a return on equity of 17.32%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.47 earnings per share. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.380 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued 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, March 13th. This is an increase from Williams Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 93.46%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 10,107 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 17,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,290,699.30. This trade represents a 36.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.24, for a total value of $150,480.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 291,159 shares in the company, valued at $21,906,803.16. This represents a 0.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 43,107 shares of company stock valued at $3,133,015 over the last 90 days. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley raised 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. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Williams Companies from $78.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $75.86.

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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