Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB Shares Sold by Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada reduced its holdings in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) by 9.7% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 12,128,639 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 1,303,214 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $882,725,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Gabelli Funds LLC increased its stake in Williams Companies by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 261,000 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $15,689,000 after buying an additional 17,900 shares in the last quarter. SIR Capital Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 40.0% in the fourth quarter. SIR Capital Management L.P. now owns 525,232 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $31,572,000 after acquiring an additional 150,032 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR lifted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 164,900 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $9,912,000 after acquiring an additional 13,438 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 56.3% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 57,550 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $3,459,000 after acquiring an additional 20,740 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mediolanum International Funds Ltd increased its position in shares of Williams Companies by 688.5% during the first quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 479,126 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $34,722,000 after purchasing an additional 418,365 shares in the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines 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

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.16, for a total transaction of $148,320.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 283,159 shares in the company, valued at $20,999,071.44. This represents a 0.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.48, for a total value of $917,760.00. Following the transaction, 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 90 days, insiders sold 68,500 shares of company stock worth $5,182,655. Company insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

NYSE WMB opened at $70.24 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $73.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99. The stock 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. Williams Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $55.82 and a twelve month high of $80.07.

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

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on WMB. Wall Street Zen raised Williams Companies from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $82.00 target price on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $83.56.

Williams Companies Company 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.