Schroder Investment Management Group Boosts Stock Position in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Key Points

• Schroder Investment Management Group increased its stake in Williams by 5.4% in Q3 to 1,007,441 shares (about 0.08% of the company), adding 51,485 shares valued at roughly $64.45 million.
• Analysts are raising targets—most notably Morgan Stanley to $90—and rising U.S. natural‑gas prices (after a Qatar LNG disruption) are cited as a key catalyst supporting midstream names like WMB.
• Williams raised its quarterly dividend to $0.525 (annualized $2.10, ~2.8% yield), while insiders sold 41,107 shares (~$3.0M) last quarter, leaving insider ownership at about 0.44%.

Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its stake in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 5.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,007,441 shares of the pipeline company's stock after acquiring an additional 51,485 shares during the quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group owned approximately 0.08% of Williams Companies worth $64,446,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMB. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the second quarter worth $32,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. South Plains Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Williams Companies by 289.7% in the 2nd quarter. South Plains Financial Inc. now owns 608 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 452 shares during the period. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora raised its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 71.2% during the 3rd quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora now owns 630 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst fair‑value raise to $76.75 reflecting higher growth capex and longer‑term EBITDA assumptions — model updates lift the central price target and align with a broader street shift higher. Why The Story Around Williams Companies (WMB) Is Shifting With New Targets And Growth Capex
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley raised its price target to $90 (from $83) and kept an Overweight rating, citing scope for multiple expansion — a notable blue‑chip upgrade that supports higher near‑term sentiment. Morgan Stanley Sees Multiple Expansion Ahead, Raises Williams Companies (WMB) Target
• Positive Sentiment: BofA and other brokers have also raised targets (one report shows a target to $87), adding to the consensus of higher analyst valuations for WMB. The Williams Companies, Inc. (WMB) Price Target Raised to $87
• Positive Sentiment: U.S. natural‑gas prices jumped after a Qatar LNG disruption, increasing export risk premia and spotlighting midstream names (including WMB) that benefit from higher U.S. gas flows and export demand. Sector price support is a key catalyst. U.S. Natural Gas Prices Rise on Global LNG Supply Disruption
• Positive Sentiment: Energy‑market commentators say natural gas presents a larger upside than oil amid geopolitical supply tensions and rising export infrastructure demand; Williams is repeatedly named a top midstream play to watch. Forget Oil, Expert Sees ‘bigger Opportunity’ In Natural Gas Amid War
• Neutral Sentiment: Williams executives are presenting at CERAWeek 2026 — useful for investor visibility and strategic messaging but not an immediate earnings driver. Williams Leadership to Share Insights on Energy Infrastructure and Innovation at CERAWeek 2026
• Neutral Sentiment: Transco has launched a registered exchange offer for 5.100% notes due 2036 and 5.750% notes due 2056 — a capital‑markets move that investors should watch for implications on debt maturity profile and funding costs. Williams' Transco Commences Registered Exchange Offer for Its 5.100% Senior Notes Due 2036 and 5.750% Senior Notes Due 2056

Insider Activity

In other Williams Companies news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 10,107 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.91, for a total value of $757,115.37. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 17,230 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,290,699.30. This trade represents a 36.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 27,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.92, for a total value of $1,968,840.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 293,159 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,377,154.28. This trade represents a 8.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 41,107 shares of company stock worth $3,009,215 over the last quarter. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:WMB opened at $73.79 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.14 billion, a PE ratio of 34.48, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.63. The stock's fifty day moving average is $67.48 and its 200 day moving average is $62.71. Williams Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $51.58 and a fifty-two week high of $76.87. 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 (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 for 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. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. This is a boost from Williams Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 93.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMB has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Williams Companies from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded shares of Williams Companies from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and upped their target price for the company from $66.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Two 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $75.86.

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.

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