Highland Capital Management LLC Purchases Shares of 40,637 ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE)

Highland Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 40,637 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,032,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Greenline Partners LLC acquired a new position in ONEOK during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. First Pacific Financial acquired a new position in ONEOK during the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in ONEOK during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in ONEOK during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its stake in ONEOK by 152.1% during the 1st quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 421 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.13% of the company's stock.

ONEOK Stock Down 0.1%

OKE stock traded down $0.05 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $81.27. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,206,043 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,429,833. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. The company has a market capitalization of $51.16 billion, a PE ratio of 15.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.94. ONEOK, Inc. has a 12 month low of $75.48 and a 12 month high of $118.07. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $82.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $92.30.

ONEOK (NYSE:OKE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.28 by ($0.24). The business had revenue of $6.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.23 billion. ONEOK had a return on equity of 15.58% and a net margin of 12.15%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.09 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that ONEOK, Inc. will post 5.07 earnings per share for the current year.

ONEOK Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 5th were given a $1.03 dividend. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.07%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 5th. ONEOK's dividend payout ratio is 80.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on OKE. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of ONEOK from $111.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of ONEOK from $96.00 to $93.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of ONEOK from $110.00 to $107.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of ONEOK from $102.00 to $93.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of ONEOK from $101.00 to $91.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $104.67.

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.