Advisors Capital Management LLC Trims Position in ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE)

Advisors Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE - Free Report) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 582,900 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 6,973 shares during the period. ONEOK comprises 0.9% of Advisors Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Advisors Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.10% of ONEOK worth $58,523,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of ONEOK by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 70,120,264 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $7,040,075,000 after buying an additional 558,789 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in ONEOK by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 18,414,781 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,848,844,000 after acquiring an additional 934,007 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of ONEOK by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,037,890 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,405,697,000 after purchasing an additional 357,015 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of ONEOK in the 4th quarter valued at about $539,554,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of ONEOK by 433.4% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,206,906 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $422,373,000 after purchasing an additional 3,418,207 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.13% of the company's stock.

ONEOK Price Performance

Shares of OKE stock traded up $1.39 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $86.19. 2,756,451 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,156,551. The firm has a market cap of $53.84 billion, a PE ratio of 18.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.77 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $93.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $99.37. ONEOK, Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.48 and a 1-year high of $118.07.

ONEOK (NYSE:OKE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The utilities provider reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.11. ONEOK had a return on equity of 16.84% and a net margin of 14.05%. The business had revenue of $7 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.18 billion. On average, equities research analysts expect that ONEOK, Inc. will post 5.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ONEOK Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a dividend of $1.03 per share. This is an increase from ONEOK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.99. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.78%. ONEOK's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

OKE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on ONEOK from $111.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of ONEOK from $105.00 to $101.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. US Capital Advisors raised shares of ONEOK from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Scotiabank dropped their price target on ONEOK from $109.00 to $102.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on ONEOK from $107.00 to $102.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $106.42.

ONEOK Profile

ONEOK, Inc engages in gathering, processing, fractionation, storage, transportation, and marketing of natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGL) in the United States. It operates through four segments: Natural Gas Gathering and Processing, Natural Gas Liquids, Natural Gas Pipelines, and Refined Products and Crude.