Brevan Howard Capital Management LP Reduces Stock Position in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Brevan Howard Capital Management LP lessened its holdings in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) by 79.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 75,864 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 298,338 shares during the quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $4,806,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake 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 period. World Investment Advisors lifted its holdings in Williams Companies by 185.6% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 43,069 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $2,728,000 after buying an additional 27,987 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Williams Companies by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 184,123 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $11,664,000 after buying an additional 16,027 shares during the period. Compass Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Williams Companies by 75.9% in the 3rd 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 grew its stake in Williams Companies by 3,344.8% in the 3rd 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Price Performance

NYSE WMB opened at $73.35 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $89.60 billion, a PE ratio of 34.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.63. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $68.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $63.06. 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 52-week low of $51.58 and a 52-week high of $76.87.

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

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 98.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMB has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Tudor Pickering raised shares of Williams Companies from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Williams Companies from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Williams Companies from $78.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Two 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.com, Williams Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $76.50.

Williams Companies News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo upgraded WMB to “overweight” and raised its price target from $80 to $89 — a clear institutional bullish signal that can attract buying interest. Wells Fargo raises WMB price target
• Positive Sentiment: Large call‑option flow: traders bought ~140,820 WMB call contracts (>> typical daily call volume), suggesting short‑term bullish positioning or speculative bets that can amplify upside volatility.
• Positive Sentiment: Broker support: Raymond James reiterated a buy stance, reinforcing institutional confidence and helping sustain demand from fund managers. Raymond James sticks to buy
• Positive Sentiment: Industry tailwind: analysts highlight rising natural‑gas demand from AI/data‑center growth, a structural driver for pipeline throughput and long‑term cash flow improvement. Data center demand boosts natural gas outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Post‑earnings momentum: commentary notes WMB is up roughly 4.6% since the last earnings report; useful context on recent strength but not a stand‑alone catalyst. Can the rally continue?
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend increase: WMB raised its quarterly payout to $0.525 (annualized $2.10), boosting yield and income appeal—but note the payout ratio is high, which limits optionality. MarketBeat WMB overview
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: SVP Todd J. Rinke sold 7,364 shares (~22% reduction of his prior incremental position), a potential signal of profit‑taking or rebalancing that can weigh on near‑term sentiment. SEC filing for insider sale

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Todd J. Rinke sold 7,364 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.39, for a total value of $547,807.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 26,055 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,938,231.45. The trade was a 22.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.24, for a total transaction of $150,480.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 291,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,906,803.16. The trade was a 0.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 48,471 shares of company stock worth $3,557,023 in the last three months. 0.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.