Ameritas Advisory Services LLC Trims Stock Position in ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE)

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC lowered its position in shares of ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE - Free Report) by 38.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 38,040 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 24,156 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC's holdings in ONEOK were worth $3,815,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Greenline Partners LLC purchased a new position in ONEOK during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. First Pacific Financial purchased a new stake in ONEOK in the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in ONEOK in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in ONEOK during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of ONEOK by 152.1% during the first quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 421 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 254 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.13% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on OKE. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on ONEOK from $102.00 to $93.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of ONEOK from $110.00 to $102.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of ONEOK from $111.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of ONEOK from $101.00 to $91.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of ONEOK from $110.00 to $107.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, ONEOK presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $104.67.

ONEOK Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:OKE traded down $0.74 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $80.89. The stock had a trading volume of 3,969,398 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,426,435. ONEOK, Inc. has a 1 year low of $75.48 and a 1 year high of $118.07. The firm's 50 day moving average is $82.57 and its 200-day moving average is $91.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.67.

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 analysts' expectations of $8.23 billion. ONEOK had a net margin of 12.15% and a return on equity of 15.58%. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.09 EPS. Research analysts predict that ONEOK, Inc. will post 5.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ONEOK Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 5th were paid a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 5th. ONEOK's payout ratio is 80.47%.

ONEOK Company 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.