Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 127.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,712 shares of the pipeline company's stock after buying an additional 14,389 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $1,174,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SouthState Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies in the second quarter worth $31,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the second quarter valued at $34,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its stake in Williams Companies by 50.4% during the third quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 752 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the second quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new position in Williams Companies during the second quarter valued at $42,000. 86.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams Companies Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of Williams Companies stock traded up $0.59 during trading on Monday, hitting $56.90. The stock had a trading volume of 5,239,787 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,254,412. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $48.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.42. The stock has a market cap of $69.36 billion, a PE ratio of 23.76, a PEG ratio of 6.37 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.39. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.65 and a 12 month high of $57.33.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.01. Williams Companies had a net margin of 27.36% and a return on equity of 15.89%. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.45 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.34%. Williams Companies's payout ratio is 80.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMB has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Williams Companies from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. StockNews.com cut shares of Williams Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Williams Companies from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $52.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Friday, October 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $50.38.

Insider Activity at Williams Companies

In related news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.29, for a total transaction of $90,580.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 304,200 shares in the company, valued at $13,777,218. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.