Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Cuts Holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV trimmed its holdings in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 12.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 186,704 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 25,680 shares during the quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV's holdings in Williams Companies were worth $10,104,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new stake in Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Williams Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Sandy Spring Bank purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in Williams Companies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams Companies Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of Williams Companies stock traded down $1.52 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $58.65. 13,643,610 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,652,998. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $38.76 and a 12-month high of $61.67. The stock has a market cap of $71.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.50 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $57.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $56.57.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.05. Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 15.85%. The business had revenue of $3.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.59 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The firm 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 is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.41%. Williams Companies's payout ratio is 109.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup increased their price target on Williams Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $57.77.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In other Williams Companies news, SVP Chad A. Teply sold 26,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.46, for a total transaction of $1,467,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 133,048 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,511,890.08. This trade represents a 16.35 % 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. Also, COO Micheal G. Dunn sold 96,687 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.04, for a total value of $5,128,278.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 714,693 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,907,316.72. The trade was a 11.92 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 139,583 shares of company stock worth $7,563,278 in the last 90 days. 0.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.