<div id="readability-page-1"><p>Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of  The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 2,303.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,517,336 shares of the pipeline company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,370,974 shares during the quarter. Marshall Wace LLP owned approximately 0.29% of Williams Companies worth $190,358,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).</p><div><p><span></span><span>Get <strong>Williams Companies</strong> alerts:</span></p></div><ul><li>3 Top-Performing Non-Leveraged ETFs From 2024 and Into 2025</li></ul><p>Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WMB. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in shares of  Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $720,000.  Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in  Williams Companies by 13.8% in the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 162,799 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $8,811,000 after purchasing an additional 19,782 shares in the last quarter.  Golden State Equity Partners lifted its position in shares of  Williams Companies by 319.9% in the fourth quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 12,038 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $651,000 after buying an additional 9,171 shares in the last quarter.  Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in  Williams Companies by 81.4% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 185,920 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $10,062,000 after acquiring an additional 83,429 shares during the last quarter.  Finally, Myriad Asset Management US LP bought a new position in shares of  Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $995,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. </p><h2>Insider Activity at Williams Companies</h2><p>In other Williams Companies news, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.46, for a total transaction of $1,467,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 133,048 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,511,890.08. The trade was a 16.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Micheal G. Dunn sold 96,687 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.04, for a total value of $5,128,278.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 714,693 shares in the company, valued at $37,907,316.72. This represents a 11.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 139,583 shares of company stock valued at $7,563,278 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own  0.44% of the company's stock. </p><h2>Williams Companies Stock Performance</h2><ul><li>Bet on These 3 High-Yield Stocks as Natural Gas Demand Grows</li></ul><p>WMB stock opened at $58.52 on Wednesday. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $37.18 and a one year high of $61.67. The firm has a market cap of $71.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.98, a PEG ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.50. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $57.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.61. </p><p>Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 15.85%.  On average, equities analysts forecast that  The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year. </p><h2>Williams Companies Increases Dividend</h2><ul><li>Top Oil Stocks Primed to Surge Ahead of Buffett's Occidental Move</li></ul><p>The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.42%. This is an increase from Williams Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend  was Friday, March 14th. Williams Companies's payout ratio is 109.29%. </p><h2>Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth</h2><p>WMB has been the subject of several research reports. CIBC increased their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a &#34;neutral&#34; rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an &#34;outperform&#34; rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a &#34;sector perform&#34; rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an &#34;equal weight&#34; rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an &#34;overweight&#34; rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. One analyst  has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned  a hold rating and nine have assigned  a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of &#34;Hold&#34; and an average price target of $56.07.</p><p><b>Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on WMB</b></p><h2>Williams Companies Profile</h2> (Free Report)<p>The Williams Companies, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy infrastructure company primarily in the United States. It operates through Transmission &amp; Gulf of Mexico, Northeast G&amp;P, West, and Gas &amp; NGL Marketing Services segments. The Transmission &amp; Gulf of Mexico segment comprises natural gas pipelines; Transco, Northwest pipeline, MountainWest, and related natural gas storage facilities; and natural gas gathering and processing, and crude oil production handling and transportation assets in the Gulf Coast region.</p><h2>Further Reading</h2><ul><li>Five stocks we like better than Williams Companies</li><li>What Does Downgrade Mean in Investing?</li><li>Why Uber’s Stock Could Soar on AV Growth and Tariff Resilience</li><li>Why Are Stock Sectors Important to Successful Investing?</li><li>Beware of BigBear.ai: Insiders Are Selling—Should You?</li><li>Technology Stocks Explained: Here's What to Know About Tech</li><li>CrowdStrike Stock is a Buy as Cyberthreat Environment Expands</li></ul><p><img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/SECFilingChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5ZU0UmU3ltYm9sPVdNQg?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" width="650" height="350" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/SECFilingChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5ZU0UmU3ltYm9sPVdNQg"/></p><p><em>This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.</em></p><h2>Should You Invest $1,000 in Williams Companies Right Now?</h2><p>Before you consider Williams Companies, you'll want to hear this.</p><p>MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Williams Companies wasn't on the list.</p><p>While Williams Companies currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.</p><p>View The Five Stocks Here</p>                  </div>

<p>Marshall Wace LLP significantly increased its stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 2,303.2% in Q4, owning 3,517,336 shares valued at $190.36 million. Other institutional investors also adjusted their holdings. Insider sales included 26,000 shares by SVP Chad A. Teply and 96,687 shares by COO Micheal G. Dunn. WMB stock opened at $58.52, with a market cap of $71.35 billion. The company reported $0.47 EPS for the last quarter and recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.50 per share, yielding 3.42%.</p>

Marshall Wace LLP Grows Stock Position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)