Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY Acquires 30,417 Shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Key Points

• Miller Howard Investments bought an additional 30,417 shares in Q4, lifting its stake to 950,538 shares (a 3.3% increase) worth about $57.14 million and making WMB its 20th largest holding (~1.7% of the firm's portfolio).
• Corporate insiders sold 53,369 shares worth roughly $3.91 million last quarter, including CAO Mary Hausman (10,107 shares at $74.91) and SVP Terrance Lane Wilson (27,000 shares at $72.92).
• Dividend and guidance update: Williams raised its quarterly payout to $0.525 ($2.10 annual, ~3.0% yield) and set FY2026 EPS guidance of $2.20–$2.38, after reporting Q4 EPS of $0.55 (missed consensus by $0.02); analysts have largely upbeat ratings with an average price target around $77.47.

Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY lifted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 950,538 shares of the pipeline company's stock after purchasing an additional 30,417 shares during the period. Williams Companies comprises approximately 1.7% of Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY's investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY owned 0.08% of Williams Companies worth $57,137,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 134,777 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors increased its holdings in Williams Companies by 185.6% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 43,069 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $2,728,000 after acquiring an additional 27,987 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings 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 worth $11,664,000 after acquiring an additional 16,027 shares during the last quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp increased its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 10,107 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The stock was 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 owned 17,230 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,290,699.30. The trade was a 36.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 27,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.92, for a total value of $1,968,840.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 293,159 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,377,154.28. The trade was a 8.43% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 53,369 shares of company stock worth $3,912,512 over the last quarter. 0.47% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Williams Companies Stock Up 0.0%

WMB stock opened at $71.17 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.94 billion, a PE ratio of 33.26, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.63. Williams Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $55.56 and a twelve month high of $76.87. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $72.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $65.35.

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

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. This is a boost from Williams Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Williams Companies's payout ratio is presently 98.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Truist Financial initiated coverage on Williams Companies in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $84.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Williams Companies from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Williams Companies presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $77.47.

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.

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