Janus Henderson Group PLC Sells 1,010,091 Shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Janus Henderson Group PLC lowered its holdings in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) by 88.4% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 131,968 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 1,010,091 shares during the quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $9,600,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 133,963,343 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $8,052,537,000 after purchasing an additional 883,245 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 67,981,106 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $4,086,344,000 after buying an additional 1,296,991 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 46,053,873 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $2,768,298,000 after buying an additional 2,100,164 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 33,572,067 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,018,017,000 after buying an additional 3,314,851 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 21.3% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 21,325,482 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,281,875,000 after acquiring an additional 3,748,126 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In related news, SVP Glen G. Jasek sold 2,500 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.15, for a total value of $195,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 54,101 shares in the company, valued at $4,227,993.15. This trade represents a 4.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.65, for a total transaction of $141,300.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 281,159 shares in the company, valued at $19,863,883.35. The trade was a 0.71% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 18,500 shares of company stock valued at $1,402,755 in the last three months. 0.47% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Williams Companies News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: $5.5 billion Momentum Midstream acquisition: Williams agreed to acquire Momentum Midstream, adding more than 4,000 miles of Gulf Coast-focused natural-gas pipelines. The assets connect the Haynesville region with LNG export facilities, power-generation customers and industrial demand, potentially strengthening WMB’s long-term growth and strategic position. Reuters: Williams to buy Momentum, raises 2026 EBITDA forecast
• Positive Sentiment: Raised outlook and growth catalysts: Second-quarter commentary indicated approximately 6% EBITDA growth, while management raised its 2026 EBITDA forecast. Exposure to LNG exports, data-center and power demand, and the Haynesville basin supports the company’s growth narrative. Williams Companies Q2 2026 Earnings Call Highlights
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support remains strong: Wells Fargo raised its WMB price target from $89 to $90 and maintained an “overweight” rating. Broader analyst coverage remains bullish, with a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target near $83.56. Benzinga: Wells Fargo raises Williams price target
• Neutral Sentiment: Quarterly results were mixed: EPS of $0.50 increased from $0.46 a year earlier and matched the consensus cited by some sources, while revenue rose 9.8% to $3.05 billion and exceeded estimates. However, other estimates placed EPS expectations at $0.52, indicating a modest earnings miss. Williams Companies Q2 earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Acquisition financing and guidance risks: The Momentum transaction increases Williams’ scale but also requires substantial capital and successful integration. Fiscal 2026 EPS guidance of $2.35 is below the roughly $2.41 analyst average, which could restrain near-term upside.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: Senior Vice President Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares for approximately $141,300, reducing his direct ownership by 0.71%. The sale is small relative to his remaining stake but is a modest cautionary signal. Williams Companies SVP sells shares

Williams Companies Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE WMB opened at $71.90 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $87.94 billion, a PE ratio of 28.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.58. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $55.82 and a 52 week high of $80.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $73.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.48.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The pipeline company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 18.49% and a net margin of 25.17%.The business had revenue of $3.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.83 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.46 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.350-2.350 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 92.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMB has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Williams Companies from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $87.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $78.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $83.62.

About Williams Companies

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.