Meridian Wealth Management LLC Takes $273,000 Position in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB)

Key Points

• Meridian Wealth Management LLC initiated a new position in Williams Companies, acquiring 4,571 shares valued at approximately $273,000 in the first quarter.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, translating to an annualized yield of 3.5%, with a payout ratio of 100.50%.
• Williams Companies reported EPS of $0.46 for the latest quarter, missing expectations, while also announcing revenue of $2.78 billion, below consensus estimates.

Meridian Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 4,571 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $273,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WMB. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the 1st quarter valued at $335,419,000. Blackstone Inc. increased its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 36.5% in the 4th quarter. Blackstone Inc. now owns 18,954,088 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,025,795,000 after buying an additional 5,068,738 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 45.0% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 11,339,078 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $677,623,000 after buying an additional 3,519,370 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 2,303.2% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,517,336 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $190,358,000 after purchasing an additional 3,370,974 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 6,407.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,238,490 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $133,772,000 after purchasing an additional 2,204,090 shares during the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of Williams Companies stock opened at $57.84 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $70.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.66. The stock's 50-day moving average is $59.14 and its 200-day moving average is $58.24. Williams Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $42.82 and a one year high of $63.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.48.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 16.23%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.43 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. Williams Companies's payout ratio is 100.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on WMB shares. TD Cowen started coverage on Williams Companies in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $67.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Wolfe Research upgraded Williams Companies from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Williams Companies from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $63.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $62.00.

Insider Transactions at Williams Companies

In related news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.68, for a total value of $119,360.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 313,645 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,718,333.60. The trade was a 0.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.47, for a total value of $263,115.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 77,612 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,537,973.64. This represents a 5.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 8,500 shares of company stock worth $507,875. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

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.

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