Payvand Fazel Sells 2,898 Shares of Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Stock

Key Points

• Insider sale: SVP Payvand Fazel sold 2,898 shares on March 13 at an average price of $73.15 for roughly $211,989, trimming his stake by 8.36% to 31,766 shares (about $2.32M), per the SEC filing.
• Dividend increase: Williams raised its quarterly dividend to $0.525 (from $0.50), a $2.10 annualized payout with a ~2.8% yield (ex-dividend and record date March 13, paid March 30), while the payout ratio is elevated at 98.13%.
• Quarterly results and guidance: The company reported $0.55 EPS (missing consensus by $0.02) but beat revenue at $3.20B, set FY2026 guidance of $2.20–$2.38 EPS, and carries a MarketBeat consensus of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $76.50.

Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) SVP Payvand Fazel sold 2,898 shares of the business'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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 31,766 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,323,682.90. This represents a 8.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Williams Companies Stock Up 1.2%

NYSE:WMB traded up $0.88 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $74.77. The stock had a trading volume of 1,765,238 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,457,157. Williams Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $51.58 and a twelve month high of $76.87. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $68.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $63.17. 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 has a market capitalization of $91.33 billion, a PE ratio of 34.93, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.63.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The pipeline company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.57 by ($0.02). Williams Companies had a return on equity of 17.32% and a net margin of 21.90%.The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.47 EPS. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.380 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a $0.525 dividend. This is an increase from Williams Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. Williams Companies's payout ratio is currently 98.13%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams Companies

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WMB. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 15.3% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 1,093,848 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $65,751,000 after acquiring an additional 145,441 shares in the last quarter. Fund Advisors of America Inc FL acquired a new position in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,232,000. World Investment Advisors raised its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 29.0% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 55,577 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $3,341,000 after buying an additional 12,508 shares in the last quarter. Meadowbrook Advisors Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $302,000. Finally, Advisortrust Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $478,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Williams Companies from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Williams Companies from $78.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Williams Companies presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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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