ProShare Advisors LLC Increases Stake in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Posted by Brenda Bartman on May 21st, 2026

ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB – Free Report) by 8.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 367,624 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 28,740 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $22,098,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Towne Trust Company N.A lifted its stake in Williams Companies by 60.2% in the fourth quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 431 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. WHI TRUST Co LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Turning Point Benefit Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $46,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

More Williams Companies News

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

Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley raised its price target on Williams Companies (WMB) from $90 to $98 and reiterated an overweight view, signaling stronger confidence in the stock’s upside potential. Morgan Stanley raises Williams Companies price target
Positive Sentiment: The company expanded its credit facilities to boost liquidity, which can reassure investors about financial flexibility and funding capacity. Williams Co Expands Credit Facilities to Boost Liquidity
Positive Sentiment: Multiple articles highlighted Williams as a beneficiary of surging natural gas-fired बिजली demand, especially from AI-driven power needs, reinforcing the long-term growth story for its pipeline and gas infrastructure assets. Motley Fool article on WMB and natural gas demand
Neutral Sentiment: Williams’ Q1 earnings call was described as signaling a “growth wave,” adding to the market’s generally constructive tone, though the article did not indicate a fresh catalyst on its own. Williams Companies’ Earnings Call Signals Growth Wave
Neutral Sentiment: An insider sale by an SVP was disclosed, but the transaction was relatively small versus the executive’s remaining holdings and is not necessarily a major fundamental concern. Williams Companies SVP sells stock

Williams Companies Trading Down 1.8%

WMB opened at $77.94 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $73.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $67.23. The company has a market capitalization of $95.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.18, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.61. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $55.82 and a 52 week high of $80.07.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.60 EPS. The business’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. Analysts forecast that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 29th. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th will be paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 12th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 92.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMB has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Zacks Research raised Williams Companies from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $78.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $81.00.

Get Our Latest Stock Report on Williams Companies

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 10,107 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.91, for a total transaction of $757,115.37. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 17,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,290,699.30. This trade represents a 36.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 27,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.92, for a total transaction of $1,968,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 293,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,377,154.28. This represents a 8.43% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 117,869 shares of company stock worth $8,814,067 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

About Williams Companies

(Free Report)

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.