Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Boosts Stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 132.3% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 146,247 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after acquiring an additional 83,300 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $6,676,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Lee Johnson Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the third quarter valued at about $4,093,000. Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD. boosted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 57.7% during the 3rd quarter. Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD. now owns 15,195 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $694,000 after acquiring an additional 5,561 shares in the last quarter. Cadent Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Cadent Capital Advisors LLC now owns 42,762 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,952,000 after acquiring an additional 306 shares during the period. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Williams Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $310,000. Finally, Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Williams Companies by 10.0% during the third quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 181,646 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $8,292,000 after purchasing an additional 16,579 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE WMB opened at $52.50 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $47.17 and a 200-day moving average of $43.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 0.45 and a quick ratio of 0.39. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.65 and a 12 month high of $52.85. The company has a market cap of $63.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.06, a P/E/G ratio of 5.87 and a beta of 1.05.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $2.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.46 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 27.11% and a return on equity of 16.17%. Williams Companies’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.42 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were given a dividend of $0.475 per share. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.83%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Scotiabank raised their price target on Williams Companies from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Williams Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Barclays lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Williams Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $52.00 to $58.00 in a report on Friday, October 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.62.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.29, for a total value of $90,580.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 304,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,777,218. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Williams Companies

The Williams Companies, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy infrastructure company primarily in the United States. It operates through Transmission & Gulf of Mexico, Northeast G&P, West, and Gas & NGL Marketing Services segments. The Transmission & Gulf of Mexico segment comprises natural gas pipelines; Transco, Northwest pipeline, MountainWest, and related natural gas storage facilities; and natural gas gathering and processing, and crude oil production handling and transportation assets in the Gulf Coast region.