Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Cuts Position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. lowered its holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 0.7% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 34,428 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 228 shares during the quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $1,572,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SouthState Corp purchased a new stake in Williams Companies during the second quarter worth about $31,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 252 shares during the period. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Williams Companies during the second quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new stake in Williams Companies during the second quarter worth $42,000. 86.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of Williams Companies stock opened at $57.86 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.41, a PEG ratio of 5.83 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $50.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.17. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $32.65 and a twelve month high of $58.10.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.52 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 27.36% and a return on equity of 15.89%. The company’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.45 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.28%. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is 80.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com cut shares of Williams Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded Williams Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.54.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.30, for a total transaction of $447,641.30. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 25,858 shares in the company, valued at $1,455,805.40. This trade represents a 23.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.29, for a total transaction of $90,580.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 304,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,777,218. The trade was a 0.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.44% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Williams Companies Company 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.