Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB Holdings Boosted by Rakuten Investment Management Inc.

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) by 9.8% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 219,534 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after buying an additional 19,507 shares during the quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $15,067,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WMB. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 2nd quarter worth about $3,320,606,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Williams Companies by 43.4% in the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 33,097,208 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $2,460,446,000 after acquiring an additional 10,013,946 shares during the period. Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 20.9% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 11,710,478 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $852,289,000 after buying an additional 2,020,899 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the second quarter valued at $596,077,000. Finally, Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the second quarter worth approximately $500,305,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Williams Companies News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Williams completed its approximately $5.5 billion Momentum Midstream acquisition, expanding its Haynesville natural-gas network to serve expected LNG, industrial and power-generation demand. Management views the enlarged platform as a growth driver through at least 2030. Momentum acquisition and Haynesville expansion
• Positive Sentiment: Third-quarter revenue rose 10.3% year over year to $3.22 billion, beating estimates, while the company highlighted record growth and a strong power-project backlog. Williams expects one or two more power deals by year-end, potentially with longer contracts. Q3 earnings call highlights
• Neutral Sentiment: Stifel reiterated its Buy rating, offering a supportive analyst view, though it may not offset concerns about costs and guidance. Stifel rating
• Negative Sentiment: Reports highlighted a quarterly earnings shortfall amid a 15% increase in costs. Although the provided results show EPS of $0.54, in line with consensus, 2026 EPS guidance of $2.35 is below the $2.42 analyst estimate—likely a key source of pressure on the shares. Q3 earnings and cost report
• Negative Sentiment: Investors may also be cautious about financing, permits and the timing of earnings from prospective power projects. Commentary questioning the stock’s valuation and risks tied to the $1.5 billion buyback authorization add to execution and capital-allocation concerns. Power backlog and funding commentary

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Terrance Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.17, for a total transaction of $148,340.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 260,259 shares in the company, valued at $19,303,410.03. This represents a 0.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 19,000 shares of company stock worth $1,408,470. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMB has been the subject of several analyst reports. Capital One Financial assumed coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $92.00 price target for the company. Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $84.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $85.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Wednesday. Truist Financial increased their price target on Williams Companies from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $86.00 to $85.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.06.

Williams Companies Trading Down 6.4%

Shares of Williams Companies stock opened at $67.83 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $72.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $72.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $56.26 and a 12-month high of $80.07. The company has a market capitalization of $84.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.62.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 2nd. The pipeline company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54. The business had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.99 billion. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 17.02% and a net margin of 24.99%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.49 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 11th will be given a dividend of $0.5250 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 11th. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is presently 83.67%.

About Williams Companies

The Williams Companies, Inc is an energy infrastructure company headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Founded in 1908 as Williams Brothers, the company has evolved from an early pipeline contractor into a major operator of natural gas infrastructure in the United States.

Williams primarily gathers, processes, transports and stores natural gas and natural gas liquids. Its assets include interstate and regional pipelines, gas processing and fractionation facilities, storage operations, and gathering systems that connect producers with utilities, industrial customers, power generators and other energy markets.