Insider Selling: Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) CFO Sells 50,000 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• CFO John Dean Porter sold 50,000 shares on May 6 at an average price of $75.37 for about $3.77M, reducing his stake by 20.28% to 196,567 shares; the trade was disclosed in an SEC Form 4.
• Q1 EPS came in at $0.73, beating estimates by $0.10 while revenue of $3.03B missed expectations, and the company set FY 2026 guidance of $2.20–$2.38 EPS (sell‑side consensus ~2.3).
• The firm announced a quarterly dividend of $0.525 (annualized $2.10, ~2.9% yield) and maintains broad analyst support with an average "Buy" rating and a $80.07 consensus price target.

Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) CFO John Dean Porter sold 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 196,567 shares in the company, valued at $14,815,254.79. The trade was a 20.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of Williams Companies stock traded down $1.40 during trading on Thursday, hitting $72.36. 2,284,579 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,953,613. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.83. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $55.82 and a 12 month high of $77.41. The stock's fifty day moving average is $73.22 and its 200 day moving average is $66.08. The stock has a market cap of $88.39 billion, a PE ratio of 31.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.61.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.28 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 23.39% and a return on equity of 18.34%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.60 EPS. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.380 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.3 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

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 given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Williams Companies's payout ratio is currently 92.11%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on WMB. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. UBS Group raised their price target on Williams Companies from $78.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Williams Companies from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, April 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $80.07.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams Companies

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Williams Companies by 40.9% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 13,680 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $740,000 after buying an additional 3,969 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,635 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $291,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its position in shares of Williams Companies by 2.1% during the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 568,928 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $35,734,000 after purchasing an additional 11,926 shares during the period. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 3.0% during the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 10,248 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $644,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 160.1% in the 2nd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 165,035 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $10,366,000 after purchasing an additional 101,574 shares during the period. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Williams Companies

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

• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen raised its price target to $87 and reiterated a "buy" rating, implying ~20% upside from current levels. Finviz
• Positive Sentiment: Stifel Nicolaus increased its target to $83 and maintained a "buy" rating, another analyst vote of confidence that supports upside. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple articles cite Williams as a beneficiary of surging natural‑gas demand tied to AI data centers, LNG exports and coal‑to‑gas switching — a structural demand story that underpins higher utilization and long‑term cash flow. Williams Eyes 13% Upside on AI Data Center Boom How Williams Companies Is Cashing in on the AI Power Boom
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage highlights Williams' recent record quarter and follow‑on growth investments (company is "betting big" after results), which supports medium‑term earnings and distribution stability. Williams Companies Bets Big After Record Quarter
• Positive Sentiment: Management confirmed operational progress — first phase of the Aristotle pipeline completed to serve new power projects (mentioned on the earnings call/transcript) — reducing project execution risk and supporting future cash flow. Q1 2026 Earnings Transcript Earnings Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst coverage summaries (estimates & ratings) show continued optimism but also note the stock has lagged the broader market — useful context but not a new catalyst. Williams Companies Stock: Analyst Estimates & Ratings
• Neutral Sentiment: In broader screens for undervalued names, WMB appears on lists of attractively priced stocks relative to fundamentals — a reminder of longer‑term value but not an immediate price driver. 3 Stocks Estimated To Be Priced Below Intrinsic Value

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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