Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB Position Reduced by California State Teachers Retirement System

Key Points

• California State Teachers Retirement System reduced its Williams Companies position by 2.2%, selling 48,478 shares and retaining 2.12 million shares valued at approximately $154.3 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 86.44% of WMB.
• Williams reported quarterly EPS of $0.73, beating the $0.63 consensus estimate, while revenue declined slightly year over year to $3.03 billion. Analysts remain bullish, with a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $83.56.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, equal to a $2.10 annualized payout and a 3.0% yield. However, WMB’s valuation appears full after a roughly 257% five-year gain, and recent insider selling could weigh on sentiment.

California State Teachers Retirement System trimmed its position in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 2.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,120,558 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 48,478 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.17% of Williams Companies worth $154,334,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WMB. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth $747,749,000. BROOKFIELD Corp ON grew its holdings in Williams Companies by 190.3% during the second quarter. BROOKFIELD Corp ON now owns 12,028,186 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $755,490,000 after acquiring an additional 7,884,730 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in Williams Companies by 21.3% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 21,325,482 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,281,875,000 after acquiring an additional 3,748,126 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 3,323,012 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its position in Williams Companies by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 33,572,067 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $2,018,017,000 after acquiring an additional 3,314,851 shares in the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams Companies News Roundup

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

Williams Companies Price Performance

NYSE WMB opened at $70.24 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $55.82 and a 1 year high of $80.07. The company has a market cap of $85.80 billion, a PE ratio of 30.81, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.57. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $73.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $72.03.

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

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. Williams Companies's payout ratio is presently 92.11%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMB has been the subject of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $78.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $82.00 target price on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "outperformer" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $83.56.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Glen G. Jasek sold 2,500 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 54,101 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,227,993.15. The trade was a 4.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.48, for a total value of $917,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 98,219 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,511,789.12. This represents a 10.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 68,500 shares of company stock valued at $5,182,655 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.47% of the company's stock.

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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