Resolution Capital Ltd Boosts Stock Position in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Resolution Capital Ltd raised its holdings in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) by 165.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 130,782 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after acquiring an additional 81,598 shares during the quarter. Williams Companies makes up 0.2% of Resolution Capital Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Resolution Capital Ltd’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $9,518,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WMB. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 133,963,343 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $8,052,537,000 after purchasing an additional 883,245 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Williams Companies by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 67,981,106 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $4,086,344,000 after buying an additional 1,296,991 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in Williams Companies by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 46,053,873 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $2,768,298,000 after buying an additional 2,100,164 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in Williams Companies by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 33,572,067 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $2,018,017,000 after buying an additional 3,314,851 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its stake in Williams Companies by 21.3% in the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 21,325,482 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,281,875,000 after acquiring an additional 3,748,126 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $88.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Wall Street Zen raised Williams Companies from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 18th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Williams Companies from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $83.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO John Dean Porter sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.37, for a total transaction of $3,768,500.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 196,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,815,254.79. This trade represents a 20.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Glen G. Jasek sold 2,500 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.15, for a total value of $195,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 54,101 shares in the company, valued at $4,227,993.15. This trade represents a 4.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 68,500 shares of company stock valued at $5,182,655. Company insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Price Performance

NYSE WMB opened at $70.24 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $85.80 billion, a PE ratio of 30.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.57. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $73.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.03. 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 52-week low of $55.82 and a 52-week high of $80.07.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.28 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 23.39% and a return on equity of 18.34%. Williams Companies’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.60 earnings per share. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.380 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is presently 92.11%.

Key Stories Impacting Williams Companies

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street expects Williams’ June 2026 quarter, due August 3, to show year-over-year revenue and earnings growth. The company has an Earnings ESP of 7.95%, indicating that the most accurate analyst estimate is above consensus and raising the possibility of an earnings beat. Williams Companies Draws Earnings Optimism
• Positive Sentiment: Williams announced a quarterly cash dividend, reinforcing the income appeal of its midstream, largely contracted pipeline business. Midstream companies’ durable free-cash-flow generation continues to support dividend growth and share repurchases. Williams Announces Quarterly Cash Dividend Midstream and MLP Free Cash Flow
• Neutral Sentiment: Williams has returned approximately 257% over five years, but the strong run has prompted investors to question whether much of the company’s future growth is already reflected in the share price. The analysis characterizes WMB as fully valued rather than clearly inexpensive. Williams Stock Looks Fully Valued
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts remain focused on whether Williams’ gas-infrastructure strategy and contracted cash flows can deliver the expected long-term growth. The company is scheduled to release results after the August 3 close, followed by an investor call on August 4. Williams as a Steady Hand as Crude Swings
• Negative Sentiment: Retreating crude oil and natural-gas prices have pressured the broader energy sector, while investors have taken a cautious stance ahead of earnings. Recent insider activity also showed sales without reported purchases, which may add to short-term sentiment concerns. Why Williams Stock Is Down

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.