Nicholas Company Inc. Purchases 7,380 Shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Nicholas Company Inc. increased its position in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) by 22.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 39,952 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,380 shares during the period. Nicholas Company Inc.’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $2,402,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Towne Trust Company N.A grew 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. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in Williams Companies during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Turning Point Benefit Group Inc. bought a new stake in Williams Companies during the 3rd quarter worth $46,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 383 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Accordant Advisory Group Inc grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 617 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Williams Companies

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

• Positive Sentiment: Several Wall Street firms turned more bullish on Williams Companies, with TD Cowen raising its price target to $87 and RBC lifting its target to $83, while other recent notes reiterated buy/outperform views. That suggests analysts still see meaningful upside in WMB’s growth and cash-flow profile. Analyst price target coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Q1 earnings beat expectations, with adjusted EPS of $0.73 versus estimates of $0.63, and the company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.525 per share. For income-focused investors, the stronger payout and earnings outperformance help support sentiment. Q1 earnings and market reaction
• Positive Sentiment: Market commentary continues to highlight Williams’ exposure to natural gas demand from data centers and AI infrastructure, which could provide a long-term growth tailwind if the company executes well on its project pipeline. AI power boom article
• Neutral Sentiment: Williams continues to be described as a company in “record quarter” mode, with a large investment slate aimed at power innovation and data-center demand. That could support a higher valuation over time, but it depends on successful execution. Record quarter coverage
• Negative Sentiment: CFO John Dean Porter sold 50,000 shares in a recent SEC filing, and the sale follows a pattern of insider selling at WMB over the past several months. Insider sales can weigh on sentiment, even if they do not necessarily signal a change in fundamentals. SEC Form 4 — insider sale
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are also watching leverage and capex pressure, as market discussion points to higher debt and a sizable growth spending plan that could constrain financial flexibility if project returns take time to materialize. Balance sheet concerns

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In related news, SVP Todd J. Rinke sold 7,364 shares of the company’s 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 in the company, valued at $1,938,231.45. This represents a 22.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO John Dean Porter sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 196,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,815,254.79. The trade was a 20.28% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 103,369 shares of company stock worth $7,700,932 over the last quarter. 0.47% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Williams Companies Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of Williams Companies stock opened at $71.90 on Monday. Williams Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $55.82 and a one year high of $77.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $73.22 and its 200 day moving average is $66.16. The firm has a market cap of $87.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.53, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.61.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.10. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 18.34% and a net margin of 23.39%.The company had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.60 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.380 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.32 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 29th. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 92.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Williams Companies from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Williams Companies from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Williams Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $82.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Zacks Research upgraded Williams Companies from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Williams Companies from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.27.

Williams Companies Company 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.