Pacer Advisors Inc. Cuts Stake in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Pacer Advisors Inc. lessened its position in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) by 14.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 167,613 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 28,028 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $12,199,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 0.7% during 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 period. State Street Corp lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 1,296,991 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in Williams Companies by 4.8% in 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 purchasing an additional 2,100,164 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in Williams Companies by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 33,572,067 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $2,018,017,000 after purchasing an additional 3,314,851 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Williams Companies by 21.3% in the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 21,325,482 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $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 Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Glen G. Jasek sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.15, for a total value of $195,375.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 54,101 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,227,993.15. This represents a 4.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.65, for a total value 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 position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 18,500 shares of company stock valued at $1,402,755. Insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on WMB. 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Williams Companies from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Barclays increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Williams Companies from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 18th. Four equities 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $83.56.

Williams Companies Price Performance

WMB stock opened at $71.66 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $73.19 and a 200-day moving average of $72.40. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $55.82 and a 12-month high of $80.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99. The company has a market cap of $87.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.43, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.58.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The pipeline company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 18.60% and a net margin of 25.17%.The business had revenue of $3.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.83 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.46 EPS. The company’s 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. As a group, equities analysts expect that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. 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%.

Key Stories Impacting Williams Companies

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

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.