Legal & General Group Plc Decreases Holdings in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Posted by Max Byerly on Mar 11th, 2026

Legal & General Group Plc decreased its stake in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB – Free Report) by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 9,748,874 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 307,360 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.80% of Williams Companies worth $617,591,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $765,164,000. BROOKFIELD Corp ON lifted its stake in Williams Companies by 190.3% in the second quarter. BROOKFIELD Corp ON now owns 12,028,186 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $755,490,000 after purchasing an additional 7,884,730 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Williams Companies by 27.3% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 14,417,821 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $905,583,000 after purchasing an additional 3,089,390 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Williams Companies by 30.4% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,073,602 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $574,856,000 after purchasing an additional 2,116,526 shares during the period. Finally, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its position in Williams Companies by 39.0% in the second quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 6,954,733 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $436,827,000 after buying an additional 1,950,485 shares during the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams Companies News Summary

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

Positive Sentiment: Global LNG supply disruption has pushed U.S. natural gas prices higher, boosting demand outlook for U.S. pipeline and export infrastructure providers like Williams. Higher spreads and export demand generally support volumes and fee-based revenue for midstream operators. U.S. Natural Gas Prices Rise on Global LNG Supply Disruption
Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment is shifting upward — Williams had a recent price-target raise (to $87) and is being highlighted among income-oriented oil & gas stocks, which can attract buy-side interest and support multiple expansion. The Williams Companies, Inc. (WMB) Price Target Raised to $87
Positive Sentiment: Media and analysts are calling natural gas a bigger investment opportunity amid geopolitical tensions, and Williams is repeatedly named as a key U.S. infrastructure play to benefit from rising export volumes. That narrative supports higher investor appetite for WMB. Forget Oil, Expert Sees ‘bigger Opportunity’ In Natural Gas Amid War
Neutral Sentiment: Williams executives will present at CERAWeek 2026, providing management visibility on strategy (exports, infrastructure investments, innovation). Investor presentations can help sentiment but are informational until they produce new guidance or contracts. Williams Leadership to Share Insights on Energy Infrastructure and Innovation at CERAWeek 2026
Neutral Sentiment: Williams’ Transco unit has commenced a registered exchange offer for two series of senior notes (2036 and 2056). This is primarily a capital-markets action (registration/liquidity of notes) — watch details for any consent or tender terms that could impact cash flow or refinancing cost. Williams’ Transco Commences Registered Exchange Offer for Its 5.100% Senior Notes Due 2036 and 5.750% Senior Notes Due 2056
Neutral Sentiment: Broader investor interest in midstream-focused ETFs (e.g., VanEck EINC) highlights demand for yield and infrastructure exposure; that can direct flows to big midstream names like WMB but also increases sensitivity to oil/gas price swings and distribution risk perceptions. Retirees Chasing Monthly Cash Flow From This ETF May Be Surprised by the Fine Print

Williams Companies Price Performance

Williams Companies stock opened at $73.79 on Wednesday. Williams Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $51.58 and a one year high of $76.87. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $67.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $62.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 0.53 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.48, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.63.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The pipeline company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) 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 the consensus estimate of $3.10 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.90% and a return on equity of 17.32%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.47 earnings per share. Williams Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.380 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued 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 is Friday, March 13th. This is a boost from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is presently 93.46%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.24, for a total value of $150,480.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 291,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,906,803.16. This represents a 0.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 10,107 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were 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 $1,290,699.30. This trade represents a 36.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 41,107 shares of company stock worth $3,009,215. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMB has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group boosted their target price on Williams Companies from $78.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Williams Companies from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $75.86.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on WMB

Williams Companies Profile

(Free Report)

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.