Central Pacific Bank Trust Division Raises Holdings in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Central Pacific Bank Trust Division increased its stake in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) by 517.0% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 21,404 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after buying an additional 17,935 shares during the quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $1,591,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 133,963,343 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $8,052,537,000 after acquiring an additional 883,245 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 1.9% in 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 acquiring an additional 1,296,991 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted 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 acquiring an additional 2,100,164 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 33,572,067 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $2,018,017,000 after acquiring an additional 3,314,851 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 3,748,126 shares in 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 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 281,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,863,883.35. This represents a 0.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.48, for a total transaction of $917,760.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 98,219 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,511,789.12. This represents a 10.89% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 18,500 shares of company stock worth $1,402,755. 0.47% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $78.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered 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. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce boosted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperformer” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.56.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

NYSE WMB opened at $71.66 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $73.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $72.40. Williams Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $55.82 and a twelve month high of $80.07. The company has a market capitalization of $87.54 billion, a PE ratio of 31.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The pipeline company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50. Williams Companies had a net margin of 25.17% and a return on equity of 18.60%. The company had revenue of $3.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.83 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.46 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.350-2.350 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

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

Williams Companies News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Strategic acquisition expands growth platform: Williams agreed to acquire Momentum Midstream from EnCap Flatrock for up to $5.5 billion. The assets connect the Haynesville region with Gulf Coast LNG export facilities, power-generation customers and industrial demand, potentially strengthening Williams’ long-term natural-gas and midstream growth prospects. Reuters: Williams to buy Momentum, raises 2026 EBITDA forecast
• Positive Sentiment: Management raised its full-year EBITDA outlook: Second-quarter results highlighted approximately 6% EBITDA growth and management’s expectation that the Momentum transaction will broaden exposure to growing LNG and power demand. The deal is viewed as strategically supportive, although its financing and execution remain important considerations. Williams Companies Q2 2026 Earnings Call Highlights
• Neutral Sentiment: Quarterly results were mixed: Williams reported adjusted EPS of $0.50, up from $0.46 a year earlier. That matched some analysts’ estimates but was below the $0.52 Zacks consensus. Revenue increased 9.8% year over year to $3.05 billion and exceeded the $2.83 billion estimate, partially offsetting the EPS miss. Williams Companies Quarterly Earnings Data
• Negative Sentiment: 2026 EPS guidance remains below consensus: Williams set fiscal-year EPS guidance at $2.35, compared with an average analyst estimate of $2.41. This could limit near-term upside if investors focus more on earnings-per-share expectations than on the higher EBITDA outlook. Williams Q2 Earnings and Revenues Lag Estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling adds a modest cautionary signal: Senior Vice President Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares for approximately $141,300, reducing his position by 0.71%. The transaction is small relative to his remaining holdings and does not by itself indicate a change in corporate fundamentals. Terrance Lane Wilson Insider Trading

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.