Nuveen Asset Management LLC Increases Position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 42.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,458,270 shares of the pipeline company's stock after buying an additional 1,920,189 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.53% of Williams Companies worth $349,522,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 5,568 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $300,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,889 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $968,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Albion Financial Group UT boosted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 18.4% in the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 1,184 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Sprinkle Financial Consultants LLC boosted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Sprinkle Financial Consultants LLC now owns 5,073 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $275,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AMG National Trust Bank boosted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 30,813 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,669,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on WMB shares. Barclays raised their target price on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Williams Companies from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, CIBC raised their target price on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $60.50.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In related news, SVP Larry C. Larsen sold 8,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.94, for a total value of $455,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 81,265 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,627,229.10. This trade represents a 8.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.46, for a total value of $1,467,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 133,048 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,511,890.08. This represents a 16.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 139,583 shares of company stock valued at $7,563,278. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Williams Companies Price Performance

NYSE:WMB traded down $0.01 on Friday, reaching $58.77. 5,118,505 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,636,383. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $58.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.87. The firm has a market cap of $71.66 billion, a PE ratio of 32.11, a P/E/G ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.66. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.88 and a 12 month high of $61.67.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.05. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 21.17%. The firm had revenue of $3.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.59 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.40%. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 106.95%.

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.