Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB Shares Sold by Pinnbrook Capital Management LP

Key Points

• Pinnbrook Capital cut its stake in Williams by 65.1% during Q3, leaving it with 39,389 shares worth about $2.495M, while other institutions (e.g., Jump Financial) added sizable positions — institutional ownership stands at 86.44%.
• Analyst sentiment has turned bullish: firms like Wells Fargo and Morgan Stanley raised ratings and price targets (to $89 and $90), and unusually large call‑option flow (~140,820 contracts) suggests amplified short‑term buying interest.
• Williams boosted its quarterly dividend to $0.525 (annualized $2.10, ~2.9% yield) but carries a high payout ratio (~93%), and recent insider selling (including 7,364 shares by SVP Todd R. Rinke; ~48,471 shares sold by insiders in the past three months) could weigh on near‑term sentiment.

Pinnbrook Capital Management LP reduced its stake in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 65.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 39,389 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 73,550 shares during the period. Pinnbrook Capital Management LP's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $2,495,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WMB. Perbak Capital Partners LLP increased its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 89.4% in the 3rd quarter. Perbak Capital Partners LLP now owns 13,130 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $832,000 after purchasing an additional 6,198 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its holdings in Williams Companies by 0.8% during the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 37,382 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $2,368,000 after buying an additional 281 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Williams Companies by 393.4% during the third quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 121,212 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $7,679,000 after buying an additional 96,645 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC grew its position in Williams Companies by 10.3% during the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 156,326 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $9,903,000 after buying an additional 14,569 shares during the period. Finally, Eisler Capital Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Williams Companies during the third quarter worth about $288,000. 86.44% of the stock is 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: Wells Fargo upgraded WMB to “overweight” and raised its price target from $80 to $89 — a clear institutional bullish signal that can attract buying interest. Wells Fargo raises WMB price target
• Positive Sentiment: Large call‑option flow: traders bought ~140,820 WMB call contracts (>> typical daily call volume), suggesting short‑term bullish positioning or speculative bets that can amplify upside volatility.
• Positive Sentiment: Broker support: Raymond James reiterated a buy stance, reinforcing institutional confidence and helping sustain demand from fund managers. Raymond James sticks to buy
• Positive Sentiment: Industry tailwind: analysts highlight rising natural‑gas demand from AI/data‑center growth, a structural driver for pipeline throughput and long‑term cash flow improvement. Data center demand boosts natural gas outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Post‑earnings momentum: commentary notes WMB is up roughly 4.6% since the last earnings report; useful context on recent strength but not a stand‑alone catalyst. Can the rally continue?
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend increase: WMB raised its quarterly payout to $0.525 (annualized $2.10), boosting yield and income appeal—but note the payout ratio is high, which limits optionality. MarketBeat WMB overview
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: SVP Todd J. Rinke sold 7,364 shares (~22% reduction of his prior incremental position), a potential signal of profit‑taking or rebalancing that can weigh on near‑term sentiment. SEC filing for insider sale

Williams Companies Price Performance

NYSE:WMB opened at $73.35 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $89.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83. The company's 50-day moving average is $68.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $62.98. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $51.58 and a 12-month high of $76.87.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 analysts' expectations of $3.10 billion. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 17.32% and a net margin of 21.90%.During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.47 earnings per share. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.380 EPS. Research analysts expect that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. This is an increase from Williams Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 93.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.24, for a total value of $150,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 291,159 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,906,803.16. The trade was a 0.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Todd J. Rinke sold 7,364 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.39, for a total value of $547,807.96. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 26,055 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,938,231.45. This represents a 22.04% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 48,471 shares of company stock valued at $3,557,023. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMB has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Williams Companies from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Citigroup raised their price objective on Williams Companies from $70.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Scotiabank raised Williams Companies from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and upped their target price for the company from $66.00 to $84.00 in a report on Friday, February 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Williams Companies currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $76.50.

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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