The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Shares Sold by Merrion Investment Management Co LLC

Merrion Investment Management Co LLC lowered its stake in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 92.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,850 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 172,800 shares during the period. Merrion Investment Management Co LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $750,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Williams Companies during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Williams Companies in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its position in Williams Companies by 50.4% in the third quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 752 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Williams Companies in the second quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Williams Companies in the third quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMB has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America initiated coverage on Williams Companies in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Williams Companies from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Williams Companies from $46.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Williams Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $52.00 to $58.00 in a report on Friday, October 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.00.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.30, for a total transaction of $447,641.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,455,805.40. This trade represents a 23.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE:WMB opened at $55.37 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $56.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $50.58. The stock has a market cap of $67.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.36, a P/E/G ratio of 5.31 and a beta of 1.06. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $32.65 and a 1 year high of $61.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.57.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.52 billion. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.89% and a net margin of 27.36%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.45 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a boost from Williams Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 80.17%.

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.