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

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lessened its stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 8.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 153,299 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 13,441 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $5,339,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in Williams Companies during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. lifted its holdings in Williams Companies by 52.5% during the 2nd quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 915 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, CGC Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of WMB stock opened at $37.58 on Friday. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $28.27 and a 12-month high of $39.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.89 and a beta of 1.05. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $35.65.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The pipeline company reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.01. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 16.20% and a net margin of 29.22%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.53 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.06%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on WMB shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $34.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Thursday. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $38.90.

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.