Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB Shares Sold by Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY

Key Points

• Miller Howard Investments cut its stake in Williams Companies by 8.5% in the first quarter, selling 80,433 shares and leaving it with 870,105 shares valued at about $63.3 million.
• Williams Companies reported Q1 earnings of $0.73 per share, topping analyst estimates, though revenue of $3.03 billion came in below expectations. The company also raised its FY2026 EPS guidance to 2.20–2.38.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, implying an annualized yield of 2.8%, while analysts remain broadly positive with a consensus Buy rating and average price target of $82.40.

Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY trimmed its position in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 8.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 870,105 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 80,433 shares during the quarter. Williams Companies accounts for approximately 1.7% of Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY owned 0.07% of Williams Companies worth $63,326,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cidel Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Williams Companies by 16.8% during the 1st quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,645 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $484,000 after buying an additional 957 shares during the period. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Williams Companies by 449.0% in the 1st quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 549 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 449 shares during the period. Certified Advisory Corp purchased a new position in Williams Companies in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $242,000. Summit Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the first quarter worth $303,000. Finally, Clear Trail Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 2.0% in the first quarter. Clear Trail Advisors LLC now owns 16,290 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,186,000 after acquiring an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Williams Companies stock opened at $75.87 on Wednesday. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $73.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $69.53. The stock has a market cap of $92.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.58. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $55.82 and a 12-month high of $80.07.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.10. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 18.34% and a net margin of 23.39%.The firm had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.60 earnings per share. Williams Companies's revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.380 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. 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 92.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on WMB shares. UBS Group increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $89.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Williams Companies from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Williams Companies from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $82.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, April 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Williams Companies from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Williams Companies from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $82.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Glen G. Jasek sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.15, for a total value of $195,375.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 54,101 shares in the company, valued at $4,227,993.15. This represents a 4.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 12,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.48, for a total transaction of $917,760.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 98,219 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,511,789.12. The trade was a 10.89% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 68,500 shares of company stock worth $5,177,835 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.47% of the company's stock.

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.

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