Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB Shares Purchased by Fractal Investments LLC

Key Points

• Fractal Investments LLC boosted its stake in Williams Companies by 37.6% in Q4, buying 222,500 shares to hold 814,000 shares worth about $48.93 million, making WMB its 6th largest holding (6.8% of Fractal's portfolio).
• Williams missed Q results on EPS ($0.55 vs. $0.57 expected) but beat on revenue ($3.20B vs. $3.10B), and set FY2026 guidance of 2.200–2.380 EPS versus analysts' average forecast of 2.08.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.525 (annualized $2.10, ~3.0% yield) even as its payout ratio is high at 98.13%; insiders sold ~53,369 shares (~$3.91M) last quarter, institutional ownership stands at 86.44%, and analysts' consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with a $77.47 target.

Fractal Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 37.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 814,000 shares of the pipeline company's stock after purchasing an additional 222,500 shares during the quarter. Williams Companies accounts for approximately 6.8% of Fractal Investments LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Fractal Investments LLC owned 0.07% of Williams Companies worth $48,930,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Towne Trust Company N.A raised 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 in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC raised its position in Williams Companies by 8.8% during the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 2,169 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $137,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in Williams Companies by 23.3% during the fourth quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 986 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN raised its position in Williams Companies by 1.7% during the third quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 11,087 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $702,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Williams Companies by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 19,006 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,142,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:WMB opened at $71.17 on Friday. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $55.56 and a 1 year high of $76.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.63. 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 business's 50 day moving average price is $72.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $65.34.

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

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This is a positive change from Williams Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Williams Companies's payout ratio is 98.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMB has been the subject of several recent research reports. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $84.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $78.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Three research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Williams Companies presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $77.47.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 27,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.92, for a total transaction of $1,968,840.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 293,159 shares in the company, valued at $21,377,154.28. This trade represents a 8.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 10,107 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.91, for a total value of $757,115.37. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 17,230 shares in the company, valued at $1,290,699.30. This trade represents a 36.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 53,369 shares of company stock worth $3,912,512. Corporate 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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