Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group trimmed its Williams Companies stake by 1.7% in the first quarter, though it still held 1.79 million shares valued at about $130.5 million. Institutional ownership remains very high, with hedge funds and other institutions owning 86.44% of the stock.
• Williams is drawing attention for its growth prospects, including a $5.34 billion Blackstone-led investment tied to five power projects and a series of mostly bullish analyst calls. Morgan Stanley recently lifted its price target to $99, while the overall consensus rating remains Buy.
• The company beat quarterly EPS expectations with $0.73 per share versus estimates of $0.63, and it continues to pay a sizable dividend. Williams also set FY 2026 EPS guidance at 2.20–2.38 and will report its next earnings on Aug. 3.

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 1.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,792,711 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 31,637 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.15% of Williams Companies worth $130,474,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WMB. Towne Trust Company N.A increased its position in shares of Williams Companies by 60.2% in the fourth quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 431 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Clearstead Trust LLC grew its stake in Williams Companies by 62.2% in the 4th quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 485 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, WHI TRUST Co LLC purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Williams Companies

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

• Positive Sentiment: Williams secured a $5.34 billion Blackstone-led investment tied to five power projects, a major vote of confidence that should strengthen its balance sheet, fund growth, and expand exposure to AI-driven power demand. Williams Lands $5.34 Billion AI Power Deal With Blackstone-Led Group
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley raised its price target on WMB to $99 from $98 and kept an overweight rating, signaling continued analyst confidence in the company’s growth outlook. Benzinga report on Morgan Stanley price target hike
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst coverage remains upbeat, with reports highlighting Williams as one of the energy stocks to watch ahead of earnings, suggesting expectations for an earnings beat or solid operating momentum. Zacks article on earnings beat potential
• Neutral Sentiment: Williams announced it will report second-quarter 2026 results on Aug. 3, with the conference call set for Aug. 4, keeping investors focused on the next earnings catalyst. Williams to Report Second-Quarter 2026 Financial Results on Aug. 3; Earnings Conference Call and Webcast Scheduled for Aug. 4
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are also weighing previews of the upcoming Q2 report, which appear centered on whether Williams can sustain earnings growth and offset modest revenue pressure. What to Expect From Williams Companies' Q2 2026 Earnings Report

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on WMB shares. Wolfe Research raised shares of Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $87.00 to $85.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of 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, fifteen have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $83.56.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In related news, CFO John Dean Porter sold 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.37, for a total value of $3,768,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 196,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,815,254.79. This trade represents a 20.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Glen G. Jasek sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.15, for a total transaction 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 68,500 shares of company stock worth $5,182,655. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of Williams Companies stock opened at $74.32 on Thursday. Williams Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $55.82 and a twelve month high of $80.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.60, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.57. 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 business's fifty day moving average price is $74.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $71.19.

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

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 29th. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 12th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is 92.11%.

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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