Legal & General Group Plc Sells 307,360 Shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Legal & General Group Plc lessened its holdings in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) by 3.1% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 9,748,874 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 307,360 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $617,591,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Williams Companies by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,540,556 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $287,644,000 after buying an additional 134,777 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors boosted its stake in Williams Companies by 185.6% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 43,069 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,728,000 after buying an additional 27,987 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in Williams Companies by 9.5% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 184,123 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $11,664,000 after acquiring an additional 16,027 shares during the last quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 75.9% during the third quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC now owns 125,290 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $7,937,000 after acquiring an additional 54,057 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp raised its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 3,344.8% during the third quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 17,465 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,106,000 after acquiring an additional 16,958 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Scotiabank raised shares of Williams Companies from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $66.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $75.86.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 10,107 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.91, for a total transaction of $757,115.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 17,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,290,699.30. This represents a 36.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 27,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.92, for a total transaction of $1,968,840.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 293,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,377,154.28. This represents a 8.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 41,107 shares of company stock valued at $3,009,215. Insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Williams Companies

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

• Positive Sentiment: Global LNG supply disruption has pushed U.S. natural gas prices higher, boosting demand outlook for U.S. pipeline and export infrastructure providers like Williams. Higher spreads and export demand generally support volumes and fee-based revenue for midstream operators. U.S. Natural Gas Prices Rise on Global LNG Supply Disruption
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment is shifting upward — Williams had a recent price-target raise (to $87) and is being highlighted among income-oriented oil & gas stocks, which can attract buy-side interest and support multiple expansion. The Williams Companies, Inc. (WMB) Price Target Raised to $87
• Positive Sentiment: Media and analysts are calling natural gas a bigger investment opportunity amid geopolitical tensions, and Williams is repeatedly named as a key U.S. infrastructure play to benefit from rising export volumes. That narrative supports higher investor appetite for WMB. Forget Oil, Expert Sees ‘bigger Opportunity’ In Natural Gas Amid War
• Neutral Sentiment: Williams executives will present at CERAWeek 2026, providing management visibility on strategy (exports, infrastructure investments, innovation). Investor presentations can help sentiment but are informational until they produce new guidance or contracts. Williams Leadership to Share Insights on Energy Infrastructure and Innovation at CERAWeek 2026
• Neutral Sentiment: Williams’ Transco unit has commenced a registered exchange offer for two series of senior notes (2036 and 2056). This is primarily a capital-markets action (registration/liquidity of notes) — watch details for any consent or tender terms that could impact cash flow or refinancing cost. Williams’ Transco Commences Registered Exchange Offer for Its 5.100% Senior Notes Due 2036 and 5.750% Senior Notes Due 2056
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader investor interest in midstream-focused ETFs (e.g., VanEck EINC) highlights demand for yield and infrastructure exposure; that can direct flows to big midstream names like WMB but also increases sensitivity to oil/gas price swings and distribution risk perceptions. Retirees Chasing Monthly Cash Flow From This ETF May Be Surprised by the Fine Print

Williams Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:WMB opened at $73.79 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.53. Williams Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $51.58 and a fifty-two week high of $76.87. The firm has a market cap of $90.14 billion, a PE ratio of 34.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.63. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $67.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $62.71.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The pipeline company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.57 by ($0.02). Williams Companies had a return on equity of 17.32% and a net margin of 21.90%.The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.47 earnings per share. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.380 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 93.46%.

Williams Companies Company 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.