Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB Shares Sold by Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc.

Key Points

• Wilkins Investment Counsel trimmed its stake in Williams Companies by 11.9% to 311,440 shares worth $18.72 million, and institutional investors collectively own about 86.44% of the stock.
• Company insiders have been selling, disposing of 53,369 shares in the last 90 days (including SVP Terrance Lane Wilson's sale of 27,000 shares); insiders now hold roughly 0.47% of the company.
• Analysts are broadly bullish with a consensus Buy rating and an average target of $78.60; Williams set FY2026 guidance of 2.20–2.38 EPS (sell-side average 2.42) and announced a $0.525 quarterly dividend (annual $2.10, 2.8% yield) with a 98.13% payout ratio.

Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 11.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 311,440 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 42,265 shares during the quarter. Williams Companies comprises about 2.7% of Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $18,721,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WMB. Towne Trust Company N.A boosted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the third quarter worth $35,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the third quarter worth $36,000. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora boosted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 71.2% during the third quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora now owns 630 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Turning Point Benefit Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the third quarter worth $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Williams Companies from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Citigroup increased their target price on Williams Companies from $70.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Zacks Research raised Williams Companies from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $78.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 value of $1,968,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 293,159 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,377,154.28. This represents a 8.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Payvand Fazel sold 2,898 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.15, for a total value of $211,988.70. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 31,766 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,323,682.90. The trade was a 8.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 53,369 shares of company stock valued at $3,912,512. 0.47% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Williams Companies Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of Williams Companies stock opened at $75.69 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83. The firm has a market cap of $92.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.61. Williams Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $55.82 and a fifty-two week high of $76.87. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $73.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.89.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The pipeline company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.57 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.10 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.90% and a return on equity of 17.32%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.47 earnings per share. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.380 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 12th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is 98.13%.

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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