Canal Insurance CO Sells 60,000 Shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Canal Insurance CO reduced its position in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) by 54.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 50,000 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 60,000 shares during the period. Canal Insurance CO’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $3,006,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of WMB. Towne Trust Company N.A boosted its holdings in Williams Companies by 60.2% in the 4th quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 431 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in Williams Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Turning Point Benefit Group Inc. bought a new stake in Williams Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at $46,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Williams Companies by 99.7% in the 2nd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 767 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 383 shares during the period. Finally, Accordant Advisory Group Inc boosted its holdings in Williams Companies by 324.7% in the 4th quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 807 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 617 shares during the period. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WMB. Wolfe Research raised shares of Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $84.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $78.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $84.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $80.13.

Williams Companies Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of WMB stock opened at $73.05 on Friday. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $55.82 and a 52-week high of $77.41. The stock has a market cap of $89.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.83. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $73.22 and a 200-day moving average of $66.16.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.60 EPS. The business’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. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 92.11%.

Key Headlines Impacting Williams Companies

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

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple brokerages raised price targets and reiterated buy/outperform views (TD Cowen to $87, RBC and Stifel increases), signaling analyst conviction in WMB’s growth runway. Analyst price target coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results: adjusted EPS $0.73 beat estimates and management raised the annual dividend to $2.10 — both support income-oriented investor demand and validate near-term cash flow. Q1 earnings and market reaction
• Neutral Sentiment: Growth narrative: analysts and press highlight WMB’s positioning to supply power/natural gas for AI data centers, LNG exports and gas switching — a structural demand tailwind but one that requires successful project execution. AI data center coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Company messaging and press coverage frame Q1 as a “record” quarter and outline a $5.1B investment slate into power innovation (AI/data centers), which could re-rate the stock if executed but adds execution complexity. Record quarter coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Balance-sheet and execution risks: guidance and commentary point to heavy growth capex (~$7B noted in market discussion) and higher leverage (consensus ~4.1x), which could pressure credit metrics and limit optionality. Balance sheet concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: CFO John Dean Porter sold 50,000 shares this week (SEC filing), and platform data show multiple insider sales in recent months — a potential negative signal for investor sentiment. SEC Form 4 — insider sale

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO John Dean Porter sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.37, for a total value of $3,768,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 196,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,815,254.79. This represents a 20.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Todd J. Rinke sold 7,364 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.39, for a total transaction of $547,807.96. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 26,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,938,231.45. This trade represents a 22.04% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 103,369 shares of company stock worth $7,700,932. Insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

About Williams Companies

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.