Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB Shares Sold by NewEdge Wealth LLC

Key Points

• NewEdge Wealth LLC reduced its Williams Companies stake by 14.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 21,603 shares and leaving it with 130,388 shares valued at about $7.84 million.
• Williams posted a solid Q1 earnings beat, reporting adjusted EPS of $0.73 versus the $0.63 consensus estimate, and it raised its quarterly dividend to $0.525 per share, equal to a 2.9% annualized yield.
• Analyst sentiment remains constructive, with several firms lifting price targets and the stock carrying an overall “Buy” rating and average target price of $80.27, while insider selling and leverage/capex concerns remain watchpoints.

NewEdge Wealth LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 14.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 130,388 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 21,603 shares during the period. NewEdge Wealth LLC's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $7,838,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WMB. Towne Trust Company N.A grew its holdings 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 worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the period. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in Williams Companies during the third quarter worth $36,000. Turning Point Benefit Group Inc. acquired a new position in Williams Companies during the third quarter worth $46,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Williams Companies by 99.7% during the second quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 767 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 383 shares during the period. Finally, Accordant Advisory Group Inc grew its holdings in Williams Companies by 324.7% during the fourth quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 807 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 617 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on WMB shares. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Williams Companies from $84.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Zacks Research raised Williams Companies from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a 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 company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $80.27.

Key Headlines Impacting Williams Companies

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

• Positive Sentiment: Several Wall Street firms turned more bullish on Williams Companies, with TD Cowen raising its price target to $87 and RBC lifting its target to $83, while other recent notes reiterated buy/outperform views. That suggests analysts still see meaningful upside in WMB’s growth and cash-flow profile. Analyst price target coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Q1 earnings beat expectations, with adjusted EPS of $0.73 versus estimates of $0.63, and the company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.525 per share. For income-focused investors, the stronger payout and earnings outperformance help support sentiment. Q1 earnings and market reaction
• Positive Sentiment: Market commentary continues to highlight Williams’ exposure to natural gas demand from data centers and AI infrastructure, which could provide a long-term growth tailwind if the company executes well on its project pipeline. AI power boom article
• Neutral Sentiment: Williams continues to be described as a company in “record quarter” mode, with a large investment slate aimed at power innovation and data-center demand. That could support a higher valuation over time, but it depends on successful execution. Record quarter coverage
• Negative Sentiment: CFO John Dean Porter sold 50,000 shares in a recent SEC filing, and the sale follows a pattern of insider selling at WMB over the past several months. Insider sales can weigh on sentiment, even if they do not necessarily signal a change in fundamentals. SEC Form 4 — insider sale
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are also watching leverage and capex pressure, as market discussion points to higher debt and a sizable growth spending plan that could constrain financial flexibility if project returns take time to materialize. Balance sheet concerns

Williams Companies Price Performance

WMB stock opened at $71.90 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.83. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $55.82 and a 1 year high of $77.41. The firm has a market cap of $87.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.61. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $73.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.16.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.10. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 18.34% and a net margin of 23.39%.The business had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.380 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 92.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO John Dean Porter sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.37, for a total value of $3,768,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 196,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,815,254.79. This trade represents a 20.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.35, for a total value of $152,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 287,159 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,924,589.65. This trade represents a 0.69% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 103,369 shares of company stock valued at $7,700,932. Company insiders own 0.47% of the company's stock.

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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