Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 49,929 Shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lowered its holdings in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) by 4.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,162,444 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 49,929 shares during the period. Williams Companies makes up about 1.7% of Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $84,603,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WMB. Towne Trust Company N.A raised its position in shares of Williams Companies by 60.2% during 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 period. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new stake in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Clearstead Trust LLC raised its position in Williams Companies by 62.2% in the 4th quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 485 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, WHI TRUST Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Williams Companies News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Williams announced a $5.34 billion investment from a Blackstone-led consortium for a 49% noncontrolling stake in five power generation projects. The deal should help fund Williams’ AI-related power infrastructure buildout while preserving control of the assets and improving financial flexibility. Williams Secures Blackstone-Led $5.34B Deal for AI Power Push
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley raised its price target on Williams from $98 to $99 and reiterated an overweight rating, signaling continued confidence in the stock’s upside. Morgan Stanley price target update
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple reports highlighted the Blackstone-led investment as a strong validation of Williams’ Power Innovation strategy and its positioning to benefit from rising AI-driven data center electricity demand. Williams Lands $5.34 Billion AI Power Deal With Blackstone-Led Group
• Neutral Sentiment: Williams said it will report second-quarter 2026 results on Aug. 3 and hold its earnings call on Aug. 4, which keeps investors focused on upcoming execution and guidance. Williams to Report Second-Quarter 2026 Financial Results on Aug. 3
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary on Williams’ ongoing energy infrastructure expansion and broader natural gas sector trends suggests the company is still investing for long-term growth, though near-term gas-price pressure remains a risk. Why Is Williams (NYSE:WMB) Expanding Its Energy Infrastructure?
• Negative Sentiment: Sector commentary noted that near-term natural gas price pressure could weigh on Williams and other gas-focused names, even as longer-term demand trends remain constructive. Natural Gas Stocks: Short-Term Pain, Long-Term Opportunity?

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Williams Companies news, CFO John Dean Porter sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.37, for a total value of $3,768,500.00. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.16, for a total value of $148,320.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 283,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,999,071.44. This trade represents a 0.70% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 68,500 shares of company stock valued at $5,182,655. 0.47% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on WMB. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $87.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Williams Companies from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.56.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of Williams Companies stock opened at $76.04 on Wednesday. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $55.82 and a 52-week high of $80.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a fifty day moving average of $74.30 and a 200-day moving average of $71.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.83.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.10. Williams Companies had a net margin of 23.39% and a return on equity of 18.34%. The business had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.60 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.380 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th were paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 12th. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is 92.11%.

Williams Companies 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.