Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB Stock Sold by D.A. Davidson & CO.

D.A. Davidson & CO. lowered its position in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) by 19.3% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 73,671 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 17,624 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $5,007,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in Williams Companies in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,320,606,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Williams Companies by 43.4% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 33,097,208 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $2,460,446,000 after buying an additional 10,013,946 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted 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 valued at $852,289,000 after acquiring an additional 2,020,899 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in Williams Companies during the second quarter worth approximately $596,077,000. Finally, Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP purchased a new stake in Williams Companies during the 2nd quarter valued at $500,305,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of WMB opened at $74.32 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.61, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.64. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $72.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $72.28. Williams Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $56.19 and a twelve month high of $80.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The pipeline company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.50. The business had revenue of $3.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.83 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 25.17% and a return on equity of 18.49%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.46 earnings per share. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.350-2.350 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 28th. Investors of record on Friday, December 11th will be given a $0.5250 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 11th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.67%.

Key Headlines Impacting Williams Companies

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

• Positive Sentiment: Dividend reaffirmed: Williams approved its regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.525 per share, equivalent to $2.10 annually. The payment is scheduled for December 28, 2026, for shareholders of record on December 11. The decision reinforces WMB’s appeal as an income-oriented pipeline investment. How Raised Earnings Estimates At Williams Companies Has Changed Its Investment Story
• Positive Sentiment: Longer-term earnings estimates increased: US Capital Advisors raised its EPS forecasts for the first, second, third and fourth quarters of 2027, as well as full-year 2027 to $2.24 from $2.07 and full-year 2028 to $2.81 from $2.67. The revisions suggest analysts see improving growth potential from Williams’ infrastructure and gathering operations. Williams Companies analyst estimate revisions
• Positive Sentiment: Options activity indicates bullish positioning: Traders purchased a large volume of WMB call options, signaling that some market participants are positioning for additional upside, although options activity does not guarantee a change in fundamentals. Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Williams Companies Call Options
• Neutral Sentiment: Q3 earnings expectations remain the immediate focus: Analysts are evaluating operating metrics such as gathering volumes and segment EBITDA ahead of Williams’ quarterly report. Current estimates center on approximately $0.51 in Q3 EPS, with attention on whether results support the company’s full-year outlook. Gear Up for The Williams Companies Q3 Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Near-term estimates were trimmed: US Capital Advisors reduced its Q3 2026 EPS forecast from $0.54 to $0.51 and its full-year 2026 forecast from $2.34 to $2.33. The revisions are small but could limit near-term enthusiasm ahead of earnings.
• Negative Sentiment: Interest-rate risk remains a concern: Commentary warns that rising rates could pressure the broader bull market. Although pipelines are viewed as relatively defensive, higher borrowing costs can weigh on valuation and dividend-focused stocks such as WMB. Why Rising Rates Could Break the Bull Market

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMB has been the topic of several research reports. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on Williams Companies from $86.00 to $85.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Melius Research assumed coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $84.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $99.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reduced their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “outperformer” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $86.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Terrance Wilson sold 13,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.87, for a total transaction of $973,310.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 268,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,077,064.33. The trade was a 4.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 19,000 shares of company stock worth $1,401,430 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

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.