Merit Financial Group LLC Increases Holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 12.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 83,609 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,928 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $4,525,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its stake in Williams Companies by 50.4% in the 3rd quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 752 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in Williams Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the second quarter worth $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Price Performance

WMB opened at $59.22 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $56.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $49.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.99, a P/E/G ratio of 5.36 and a beta of 1.06. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $32.65 and a 52-week high of $60.36.

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

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.21%. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 80.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.30, for a total value of $447,641.30. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on WMB shares. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Williams Companies from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $55.00 target price for the company. UBS Group raised their price objective on Williams Companies from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, CIBC lifted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.00.

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.