Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB Stake Boosted by Truist Financial Corp

Key Points

• Truist Financial Corp increased its stake in Williams by 2.7% in Q4 to 1,909,009 shares (about $114.8M), and institutional investors now own roughly 86.4% of the company.
• Williams reported Q1 EPS of $0.73, beating estimates while revenue missed at $3.03B versus consensus, and management set FY2026 guidance of $2.20–$2.38 EPS and raised the quarterly dividend 5% to $0.525 (2.8% yield).
• Analysts have boosted price targets and ratings (majority "Buy"), with an average target near $78.60, signaling continued bullish sentiment despite the mixed results.

Truist Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,909,009 shares of the pipeline company's stock after acquiring an additional 50,001 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp owned 0.16% of Williams Companies worth $114,751,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Towne Trust Company N.A increased its position in Williams Companies by 60.2% in the 4th 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 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora grew its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 71.2% in the 3rd quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora now owns 630 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Turning Point Benefit Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $46,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams Companies Stock Up 0.0%

WMB opened at $75.56 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $92.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.53. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $73.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.91. Williams Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $55.82 and a twelve month high of $76.87.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.10. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 17.32% and a net margin of 21.90%.The company had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $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. Research analysts forecast that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.42 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 98.13%.

Trending Headlines about Williams Companies

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 EPS beat — Williams reported $0.73 EPS vs. the Zacks consensus $0.65, marking year-over-year improvement and giving investors confidence in cash generation. Williams Companies Beats Q1 Earnings Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Demand & capacity tailwinds — Management cited higher natural-gas demand and placed new pipeline projects into service, which helped service revenue and supports fee-based earnings growth. Williams beats quarterly profit estimates on higher natural gas demand
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend increase — Board approved a 5% hike to the quarterly dividend (to $0.525), reinforcing shareholder return policy and signaling confidence in cash flow. Does Williams Dividend Hike Reveal a Deeper Shift
• Positive Sentiment: Project execution — Recent project completions (Transco, Northwest Pipeline expansions) increase long-term contracted capacity and reduce volume risk. Williams Q3 2025 Earnings Transcript (project updates)
• Neutral Sentiment: FY2026 guidance provided (EPS $2.20–$2.38) — range overlaps consensus but the midpoint sits slightly below some estimates, leaving room for interpretation on FY momentum. Williams Q1 2026 Press Release & Guidance
• Neutral Sentiment: Market/analyst chatter — Several bullish write-ups and “stocks to watch” pieces highlight the company’s infrastructure profile, supporting sentiment but not new fundamentals. Tyson Foods, Williams Companies And 3 Stocks To Watch
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue missed estimates — Q1 revenue of $3.03B fell short of the $3.27B consensus, which could temper upside if top-line trends don’t reaccelerate. The Williams Companies Q1 Earnings: Key Metrics Versus Estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sale disclosed — An SVP sold 2,000 shares (a small position), which is routine but can draw short-term attention. Insider Sale Filing

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WMB. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $78.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $70.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Williams Companies from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $82.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, April 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $78.60.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Payvand Fazel sold 2,898 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.15, for a total value of $211,988.70. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 31,766 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,323,682.90. This trade represents a 8.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 10,107 shares of Williams Companies 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 in the company, valued at $1,290,699.30. The trade was a 36.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 53,369 shares of company stock worth $3,932,432 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.47% of the company's stock.

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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