Bank of America Corp DE Sells 1,592,637 Shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Bank of America Corp DE lessened its stake in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) by 3.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,461,236 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 1,592,637 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned 3.64% of Williams Companies worth $3,235,889,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WMB. Main Street Group LTD acquired a new position in Williams Companies in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Williams Companies by 59.4% during the 1st quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 416 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A lifted its position in Williams Companies by 60.2% during the 4th quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 431 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new stake in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its holdings in Williams Companies by 102.5% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 480 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Williams Companies from $87.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce raised their target price on Williams Companies from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperformer” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Wolfe Research raised Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $78.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Williams Companies presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $83.56.

Williams Companies Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of WMB stock opened at $70.13 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $73.71 and a 200-day moving average of $72.09. The stock has a market cap of $85.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.57. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $55.82 and a 52-week high of $80.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.83.

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

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 92.11%.

Key Williams Companies News

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO John Dean Porter sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.37, for a total transaction of $3,768,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 196,567 shares in the company, valued at $14,815,254.79. This trade represents a 20.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.48, for a total value of $917,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 98,219 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,511,789.12. This represents a 10.89% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 68,500 shares of company stock valued at $5,182,655. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.