Mengis Capital Management Inc. Sells 999 Shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Mengis Capital Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 15.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,682 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 999 shares during the quarter. Mengis Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $259,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WMB. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Williams Companies by 9.1% during the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 29,396 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,146,000 after purchasing an additional 2,442 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Williams Companies by 9.2% during the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 31,557 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,230,000 after buying an additional 2,666 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its holdings in Williams Companies by 13.4% during the first quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 116,052 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $4,523,000 after buying an additional 13,709 shares in the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Williams Companies by 15.5% in the 1st quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 113,503 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $4,423,000 after buying an additional 15,232 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HBK Sorce Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Williams Companies by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 13,690 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $534,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on WMB shares. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley raised Williams Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $52.00 to $58.00 in a report on Friday, October 4th. Seaport Res Ptn cut Williams Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on Williams Companies in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $50.38.

Williams Companies Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of WMB stock opened at $55.60 on Thursday. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $32.65 and a 1 year high of $57.33. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $49.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $44.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.46, a PEG ratio of 5.56 and a beta of 1.03.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.52 billion. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.89% and a net margin of 27.36%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.45 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Williams Companies’s payout ratio is 80.17%.

Insider Activity

In other Williams Companies news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.30, for a total value of $447,641.30. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 25,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,455,805.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 approximately $1,455,805.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.29, for a total value of $90,580.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 304,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,777,218. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company 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.