Hartford Investment Management Co. Sells 409 Shares of ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE)

Hartford Investment Management Co. lowered its stake in shares of ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,270 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 409 shares during the quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in ONEOK were worth $2,758,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Peoples Bank KS acquired a new position in shares of ONEOK during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Beacon Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in ONEOK by 90.7% in the 4th quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 408 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of ONEOK by 97.7% during the 3rd quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 437 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ONEOK during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Worth Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of ONEOK in the first quarter valued at $30,000. 69.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on OKE. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of ONEOK from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of ONEOK from $84.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on ONEOK from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 19th. US Capital Advisors cut ONEOK from an “overweight” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on ONEOK from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $81.73.

ONEOK Price Performance

Shares of OKE stock opened at $79.22 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $74.38 and its 200-day moving average is $69.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.90. ONEOK, Inc. has a 52 week low of $55.91 and a 52 week high of $80.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.20 billion, a PE ratio of 14.27, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.65.

ONEOK (NYSE:OKE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by ($0.03). ONEOK had a return on equity of 22.57% and a net margin of 15.04%. The company had revenue of $5.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that ONEOK, Inc. will post 4.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ONEOK Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 30th were issued a dividend of $0.99 per share. This is an increase from ONEOK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.96. The ex-dividend date was Monday, January 29th. This represents a $3.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.00%. ONEOK’s dividend payout ratio is currently 71.35%.

ONEOK declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, January 17th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the utilities provider to repurchase up to 4.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at ONEOK

In other news, Director Wayne Thomas Smith bought 2,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was bought at an average price of $75.25 per share, for a total transaction of $203,175.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $203,175. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.65% of the company’s stock.

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.