Empowered Funds LLC Boosts Stake in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) by 58.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 179,321 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after acquiring an additional 66,415 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $13,051,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Williams Companies by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,000 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $361,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of Williams Companies by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 15,309 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $920,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Williams Companies by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 12,646 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $760,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Great Diamond Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Great Diamond Partners LLC now owns 34,870 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $2,096,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 4,220 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $307,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Glen G. Jasek sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.15, for a total transaction of $195,375.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 54,101 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,227,993.15. This trade represents a 4.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.48, for a total transaction of $917,760.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 98,219 shares in the company, valued at $7,511,789.12. This trade represents a 10.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 68,500 shares of company stock worth $5,182,655. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMB has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Williams Companies from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 18th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce raised their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperformer” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $87.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.56.

Key Headlines Impacting Williams Companies

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts have set an average price target of $83.56, above recent trading levels, suggesting potential upside as investor sentiment remains constructive. Analysts Set Williams Companies Price Target at $83.56
• Positive Sentiment: Williams declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.525 per share, payable September 28 to shareholders of record September 11. The dividend equates to approximately $2.10 annually and a yield near 3%, reinforcing the stock’s appeal to income-focused investors. Williams Announces Quarterly Cash Dividend
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street expects higher year-over-year revenue and earnings for the quarter scheduled to be reported August 3. Williams currently has an Earnings ESP of 7.95%, indicating that the most accurate analyst estimate is above the broader consensus and raising the possibility of an earnings beat. Williams Companies Draws Earnings Optimism
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are evaluating whether Williams’ focus on natural-gas infrastructure and contracted cash flows can sustain long-term growth. Broader midstream-sector analysis highlights durable free-cash-flow generation, which supports dividends and potential buybacks. Midstream and MLPs Deliver Durable Free Cash Flow
• Negative Sentiment: After gaining approximately 257% over five years, Williams shares are viewed by some analysts as fully valued or expensive. The recent pullback has increased concern that much of the company’s success and future growth may already be reflected in the stock price, potentially limiting upside without strong earnings or guidance. Williams Stock Looks Fully Valued

Williams Companies Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of Williams Companies stock opened at $70.13 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $73.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $72.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The company has a market capitalization of $85.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.76, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.57. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $55.82 and a 1-year high of $80.07.

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

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

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

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.