<div id="readability-page-1"><p>Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of &#34;Moderate Buy&#34; by the sixteen ratings firms that are  covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued  a buy rating and one  has given a strong buy rating to  the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $62.8571.</p><div><p><span></span><span>Get <strong>Williams Companies</strong> alerts:</span></p></div><ul><li>3 Natural Gas Stocks Powering the AI Data Center Boom</li></ul><p>A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WMB. Argus  reaffirmed a &#34;buy&#34; rating and set a $66.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Williams Companies from an &#34;underperform&#34; rating to a &#34;peer perform&#34; rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Cibc World Mkts raised shares of Williams Companies from a &#34;hold&#34; rating to a &#34;strong-buy&#34; rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada  reaffirmed an &#34;outperform&#34; rating and issued a $63.00 price objective on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, CIBC raised shares of Williams Companies from a &#34;neutral&#34; rating to a &#34;sector outperform&#34; rating and set a $64.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 15th.</p><p><b>Get Our Latest Analysis on WMB</b></p><h2>Insider Activity</h2><ul><li>3 Dividend Kings Outshining the Market in 2025</li></ul><p>In related news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.68, for a total transaction of $119,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 313,645 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,718,333.60. This trade represents a 0.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.47, for a total transaction of $263,115.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 77,612 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,537,973.64. This trade represents a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 8,500 shares of company stock valued at $507,875. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders. </p><h2>Institutional Inflows and Outflows</h2><p>Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of  Williams Companies by 40.9% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 13,680 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $740,000 after buying an additional 3,969 shares in the last quarter.  AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of  Williams Companies by 294.4% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 339,399 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $18,368,000 after acquiring an additional 253,336 shares during the last quarter.  Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of  Williams Companies by 112.8% during the 4th quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 26,298 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,423,000 after acquiring an additional 13,941 shares during the last quarter.  Bearing Point Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of  Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth $206,000.  Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of  Williams Companies by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 419,163 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $22,685,000 after buying an additional 7,587 shares in the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. </p><h2>Williams Companies Stock Down 0.2%</h2><ul><li>3 New ETFs Finding Early Traction With Investors</li></ul><p>Williams Companies stock opened at $57.88 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.58 billion, a PE ratio of 29.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.65. The company's 50-day moving average is $58.53 and its 200-day moving average is $58.40. Williams Companies has a fifty-two week low of $43.98 and a fifty-two week high of $63.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.48. </p><p>Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 16.23% and a net margin of 21.63%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.43 EPS.  Williams Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.010-2.190 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that  Williams Companies will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year. </p><h2>Williams Companies Announces Dividend</h2><p>The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio  is currently 100.50%. </p><h2>Williams Companies Company Profile</h2> (Get 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>See Also</h2><ul><li>Five stocks we like better than Williams Companies</li><li>3 Healthcare Dividend Stocks to Buy</li><li>3 Healthcare Pathbreakers With Long-Term Tailwinds</li><li>Stock Market Upgrades: What Are They?</li><li>3 Tariff-Proof Retailers Making New All-time Highs</li><li>What is a Stock Market Index and How Do You Use Them?</li><li>With Shares Near Highs, Here's to Watch in Broadcom's Q3 Report</li></ul><p><img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/RatingsChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5ZU0UmU3ltYm9sPVdNQg?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" width="600" height="385" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/RatingsChart.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>Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from 16 brokerages. Analysts have issued 10 buy ratings, 5 hold ratings, and 1 strong buy rating, with an average price target of $62.86. Recent upgrades include Argus with a $66 target and CIBC raising to a strong buy. Insider sales were noted, with a total of 8,500 shares sold last quarter. The stock opened at $57.88, with a market cap of $70.58 billion and a PE ratio of 29.09.</p>

Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages