Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB Shares Sold by Atria Investments Inc

Key Points

• Atria Investments trimmed its stake in Williams Companies by 12.3% in the fourth quarter, though the fund still held 128,895 shares valued at about $7.75 million.
• Williams Companies posted a Q1 earnings beat with adjusted EPS of $0.73 versus the $0.63 estimate and reaffirmed full-year guidance, while also increasing its quarterly dividend by 5%.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on the stock, with a consensus Buy rating and average price target of $80.47, even as some insiders have recently sold shares.

Atria Investments Inc reduced its holdings in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 12.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 128,895 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 18,013 shares during the quarter. Atria Investments Inc's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $7,748,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Williams Companies by 838.4% in the fourth quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 38,550 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $2,317,000 after purchasing an additional 34,442 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp increased its stake in Williams Companies by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 18,585 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,117,000 after purchasing an additional 1,120 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors increased its stake in Williams Companies by 29.0% in the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 55,577 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $3,341,000 after purchasing an additional 12,508 shares during the last quarter. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV increased its stake in Williams Companies by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV now owns 9,571 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $575,000 after purchasing an additional 1,139 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meridian Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Williams Companies by 54.3% in the fourth quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,532 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $333,000 after purchasing an additional 1,947 shares during the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Williams Companies

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

• Positive Sentiment: Williams reported better-than-expected Q1 earnings, with adjusted EPS topping estimates, and management reaffirmed full-year guidance while also raising its dividend by 5%, reinforcing the company’s income appeal. A Look At Williams Companies (WMB) Valuation After Q1 2026 Beat And New Power Project Announcements
• Positive Sentiment: Investor focus has also turned to Williams’ new power-project announcements and CEO comments about a “unique solution” for lowering utility bills, which may be helping the stock’s growth story. Williams CEO outlines 'unique solution' for lowering utility bills
• Neutral Sentiment: A recent valuation comparison with Ultrapar Participacoes (UGP) kept WMB in the spotlight, but it was largely a comparative analysis rather than a clear company-specific catalyst. UGP vs. WMB: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?
• Negative Sentiment: COO Larry C. Larsen sold 12,000 shares in an SEC-disclosed transaction, which can sometimes pressure sentiment even though the sale represents only a portion of his holdings. SEC Form 4 filing for Larry C. Larsen

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In related news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 10,107 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.91, for a total value of $757,115.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 17,230 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,290,699.30. This represents a 36.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Todd J. Rinke sold 7,364 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 26,055 shares in the company, valued at $1,938,231.45. The trade was a 22.04% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 115,369 shares of company stock valued at $8,618,692 in the last three months. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Williams Companies from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Truist Financial assumed coverage on Williams Companies in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. They set a "buy" rating and a $84.00 price target for the company. Zacks Research raised Williams Companies from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Williams Companies from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $80.47.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WMB opened at $77.77 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $95.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.11, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.61. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $55.82 and a 1-year high of $78.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The business has a 50-day moving average of $73.23 and a 200-day moving average of $66.73.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.10. The firm 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 18.34% and a net margin of 23.39%.Williams Companies's revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.60 earnings per share. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.380 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 29th. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th will be issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 12th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 92.11%.

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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