Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Has $11.96 Million Stock Holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 46.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 214,079 shares of the pipeline company's stock after purchasing an additional 67,832 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $11,962,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WMB. Creative Planning raised its position in Williams Companies by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 199,046 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $9,086,000 after purchasing an additional 17,983 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its position in Williams Companies by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 21,590 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $986,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Williams Companies by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 13,159 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $559,000 after purchasing an additional 830 shares during the last quarter. Little House Capital LLC raised its position in Williams Companies by 36.1% in the 3rd quarter. Little House Capital LLC now owns 45,801 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $2,091,000 after purchasing an additional 12,159 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in Williams Companies in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $52,000. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on WMB shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $51.00 target price on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $53.29.

Williams Companies Stock Down 1.7 %

NYSE WMB traded down $1.02 on Friday, reaching $57.44. The company had a trading volume of 11,081,263 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,709,167. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.00 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.50. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $34.26 and a 1-year high of $61.46. The company's fifty day moving average is $56.15 and its 200-day moving average is $52.18.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 15.85%. On average, research analysts forecast that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Williams Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.48%. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 109.29%.

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.