Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB Stock Acquired by Rakuten Investment Management Inc.

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 219,534 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,507 shares during the period. Rakuten Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $15,067,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the second quarter valued at approximately $3,320,606,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 10,013,946 shares during the last quarter. Amundi boosted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 20.9% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 11,710,478 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $852,289,000 after acquiring an additional 2,020,899 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in Williams Companies in the second quarter worth about $596,077,000. Finally, Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the second quarter worth $500,305,000. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Key Williams Companies News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Williams completed its approximately $5.5 billion Momentum Midstream acquisition, expanding its Haynesville natural-gas network to serve expected LNG, industrial and power-generation demand. Management views the enlarged platform as a growth driver through at least 2030. Momentum acquisition and Haynesville expansion
• Positive Sentiment: Third-quarter revenue rose 10.3% year over year to $3.22 billion, beating estimates, while the company highlighted record growth and a strong power-project backlog. Williams expects one or two more power deals by year-end, potentially with longer contracts. Q3 earnings call highlights
• Neutral Sentiment: Stifel reiterated its Buy rating, offering a supportive analyst view, though it may not offset concerns about costs and guidance. Stifel rating
• Negative Sentiment: Reports highlighted a quarterly earnings shortfall amid a 15% increase in costs. Although the provided results show EPS of $0.54, in line with consensus, 2026 EPS guidance of $2.35 is below the $2.42 analyst estimate—likely a key source of pressure on the shares. Q3 earnings and cost report
• Negative Sentiment: Investors may also be cautious about financing, permits and the timing of earnings from prospective power projects. Commentary questioning the stock’s valuation and risks tied to the $1.5 billion buyback authorization add to execution and capital-allocation concerns. Power backlog and funding commentary

Williams Companies Stock Down 6.4%

Shares of NYSE WMB opened at $67.83 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $72.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.43. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $56.26 and a 52-week high of $80.07. The firm has a market cap of $84.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.71, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 2nd. The pipeline company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54. The company had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 24.99% and a return on equity of 17.02%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.49 EPS. Research analysts predict that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.35 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 11th will be issued a $0.5250 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 11th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is 83.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Terrance Wilson sold 13,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.87, for a total value of $973,310.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 268,159 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,077,064.33. This trade represents a 4.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold 19,000 shares of company stock worth $1,408,470 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on WMB shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $99.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $87.06.

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.