Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB Shares Acquired by J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) by 52.7% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 71,297 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after buying an additional 24,599 shares during the quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $4,517,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Williams Companies by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,540,556 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $287,644,000 after purchasing an additional 134,777 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 27.9% during the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 19,653 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,245,000 after purchasing an additional 4,284 shares during the period. Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc. boosted its position in Williams Companies by 1.4% in the third quarter. Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc. now owns 449,147 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $28,453,000 after buying an additional 6,040 shares during the last quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Williams Companies by 16.2% in the 3rd quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,611 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $102,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the period. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Williams Companies by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,223 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $648,000 after buying an additional 503 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research downgraded Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Mizuho raised Williams Companies to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Williams Companies from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.64.

Key Stories Impacting Williams Companies

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

• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies raised its price target to $76 and kept a Buy rating, providing a clear buy‑side catalyst and signaling stronger upside vs. recent levels. Jefferies Boosts PT to $76
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks and other previews point to expected Q4 earnings growth and the potential for an earnings beat on Feb. 10, which can lift the stock ahead of the report. WMB to Report Q4 Results: Wall Street Expects Earnings Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Weather and gas‑storage draws (EIA data showing a large reduction in lower‑48 nat‑gas inventories after Winter Storm Fern) have supported natural gas prices and volumes—a tailwind for midstream throughput and Williams’ revenue. EIA: Natural Gas Stocks Update
• Positive Sentiment: Company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.525 (annualized $2.10, ~3.1% yield), which is supportive for income‑oriented investors and helps justify higher valuation multiples. MarketBeat WMB Coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts’ consensus price target sits near $68.29 — essentially in line with the current trading level — indicating mixed expectations across the Street. Average Price Target $68.29
• Negative Sentiment: US Capital Advisors issued mixed revisions: they raised Q1 2026 and FY2027 EPS forecasts (Q1 to $0.61; FY2027 to $2.49) but trimmed several FY2026 quarterly estimates and slightly cut FY2026 EPS — a near‑term downgrade that can temper optimism about 2026 earnings. US Capital Advisors Has Negative View of WMB FY2026 Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: an SVP sold 2,000 shares (~$66.39 avg), a small but visible transaction that some investors view as a negative signal. SEC Form 4 filing is available. SEC Form 4

Williams Companies Trading Up 1.5%

WMB stock opened at $67.47 on Friday. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $51.58 and a 52-week high of $68.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73. The firm has a market cap of $82.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.78, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.65. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $61.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $60.30.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The pipeline company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($0.02). Williams Companies had a return on equity of 16.74% and a net margin of 20.61%.The business had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.43 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 108.25%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 4,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.53, for a total value of $242,120.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 302,645 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,319,101.85. This trade represents a 1.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 8,000 shares of company stock worth $498,700. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

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.