Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Sells 140,590 Shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) $WMB

Key Points

• Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC has decreased its stake in Williams Companies by 43.1%, selling 140,590 shares and leaving it with 185,646 shares valued at approximately $10.9 million.
• Several analysts have raised their price targets for WMB shares, with Morgan Stanley increasing its target from $70.00 to $83.00 and maintaining an "overweight" rating.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, reflecting an annualized payout of $2.00 and a yield of 3.2%, with the dividend payout ratio currently at 100.50%.

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC reduced its position in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 43.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 185,646 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 140,590 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $10,901,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMB. Flaharty Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Williams Companies during the first quarter worth $25,000. HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in Williams Companies during the first quarter worth $26,000. Saudi Central Bank bought a new stake in Williams Companies during the first quarter worth $29,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Williams Companies by 4,490.9% during the first quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 505 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 494 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abound Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the first quarter valued at $32,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WMB. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $70.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $67.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Finally, Argus reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $66.00 price objective on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams Companies presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $66.73.

Williams Companies Trading Down 0.2%

WMB stock opened at $62.39 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.54. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $59.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.16. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $51.34 and a 52 week high of $65.55. The company has a market capitalization of $76.08 billion, a PE ratio of 31.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.65.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.03). Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 16.23%. The business had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.43 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. Williams Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.010-2.190 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 12th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 12th. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 100.50%.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.47, for a total transaction of $263,115.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 77,612 shares in the company, valued at $4,537,973.64. This represents a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.62, for a total transaction of $115,240.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 311,645 shares in the company, valued at $17,956,984.90. The trade was a 0.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 8,500 shares of company stock worth $497,715 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Profile

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.

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