Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB Shares Acquired by Eventide Asset Management LLC

Eventide Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) by 3.9% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,085,237 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after acquiring an additional 40,799 shares during the period. Williams Companies accounts for approximately 1.1% of Eventide Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Eventide Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $68,864,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Williams Companies by 3.1% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,540,556 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $287,644,000 after purchasing an additional 134,777 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors grew its stake in Williams Companies by 185.6% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 43,069 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,728,000 after buying an additional 27,987 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Williams Companies by 9.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 184,123 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $11,664,000 after buying an additional 16,027 shares during the last quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Williams Companies by 75.9% during the third quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC now owns 125,290 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $7,937,000 after buying an additional 54,057 shares during the period. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp increased its position in Williams Companies by 3,344.8% during the third quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 17,465 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,106,000 after buying an additional 16,958 shares during the period. 86.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams Companies Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of WMB stock opened at $73.35 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $89.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.63. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $68.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $63.02. Williams Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $51.58 and a twelve month high of $76.87.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last released 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 company had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.47 EPS. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.380 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This is an increase from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is currently 98.13%.

Williams Companies News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo upgraded WMB to “overweight” and raised its price target from $80 to $89 — a clear institutional bullish signal that can attract buying interest. Wells Fargo raises WMB price target
• Positive Sentiment: Large call‑option flow: traders bought ~140,820 WMB call contracts (>> typical daily call volume), suggesting short‑term bullish positioning or speculative bets that can amplify upside volatility.
• Positive Sentiment: Broker support: Raymond James reiterated a buy stance, reinforcing institutional confidence and helping sustain demand from fund managers. Raymond James sticks to buy
• Positive Sentiment: Industry tailwind: analysts highlight rising natural‑gas demand from AI/data‑center growth, a structural driver for pipeline throughput and long‑term cash flow improvement. Data center demand boosts natural gas outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Post‑earnings momentum: commentary notes WMB is up roughly 4.6% since the last earnings report; useful context on recent strength but not a stand‑alone catalyst. Can the rally continue?
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend increase: WMB raised its quarterly payout to $0.525 (annualized $2.10), boosting yield and income appeal—but note the payout ratio is high, which limits optionality. MarketBeat WMB overview
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: SVP Todd J. Rinke sold 7,364 shares (~22% reduction of his prior incremental position), a potential signal of profit‑taking or rebalancing that can weigh on near‑term sentiment. SEC filing for insider sale

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 10,107 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.91, for a total value of $757,115.37. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 17,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,290,699.30. This trade represents a 36.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 27,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.92, for a total transaction of $1,968,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 293,159 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,377,154.28. The trade was a 8.43% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 48,471 shares of company stock worth $3,557,023. 0.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WMB shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Williams Companies from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.