Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Acquires 13,129 Shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB)

Key Points

• Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Williams Companies, Inc. by 101.8% in the first quarter, acquiring an additional 13,129 shares and bringing its total holdings to 26,032 shares worth approximately $1.56 million.
• Williams Companies recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, equating to an annual yield of 3.37%, with a payout ratio of 106.95%.
• Analysts have varying ratings for Williams Companies, with a consensus price target of $61.77, indicating a mixed outlook on the stock with seven hold ratings and eight buy ratings.

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 101.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,032 shares of the pipeline company's stock after purchasing an additional 13,129 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $1,556,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Arkadios Wealth Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 489.0% during the 1st quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 62,148 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $3,714,000 after purchasing an additional 51,596 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank boosted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 939.3% during the 1st quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 925 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 836 shares in the last quarter. Vestcor Inc boosted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 58,374 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $3,488,000 after purchasing an additional 3,476 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 1,003.4% during the 1st quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 62,219 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $3,718,000 after purchasing an additional 56,580 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in Williams Companies by 143.7% during the first quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 39,343 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $2,260,000 after acquiring an additional 23,201 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Stock Up 0.5%

Williams Companies stock traded up $0.32 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $60.27. The stock had a trading volume of 7,834,823 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,215,843. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.66. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $40.41 and a 12-month high of $63.45. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $59.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.29.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.05. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.18% and a return on equity of 15.95%. The firm had revenue of $3.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.59 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. Williams Companies's payout ratio is presently 106.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In other news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.70, for a total transaction of $125,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 315,645 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,790,941.50. The trade was a 0.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $67.00 price objective on the stock. Wolfe Research raised shares of Williams Companies from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $63.00 price objective on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $61.77.

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.