MetLife Investment Management LLC Sells 3,809 Shares of ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE)

MetLife Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE) by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 152,298 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,809 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in ONEOK were worth $13,879,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of OKE. National Pension Service increased its holdings in shares of ONEOK by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 763,833 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $69,608,000 after buying an additional 12,349 shares during the last quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. increased its position in ONEOK by 3.8% during the third quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 141,236 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $12,871,000 after acquiring an additional 5,175 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LP purchased a new position in shares of ONEOK during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,225,000. Point72 Europe London LLP bought a new position in ONEOK during the 2nd quarter valued at about $15,008,000. Finally, Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV raised its position in ONEOK by 11.1% in the 3rd quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 54,557 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,972,000 after purchasing an additional 5,451 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at ONEOK

In related news, Director Pattye L. Moore sold 3,379 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.01, for a total transaction of $310,901.79. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

ONEOK Price Performance

OKE opened at $112.59 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.77 billion, a PE ratio of 23.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.56 and a beta of 1.66. The business’s 50-day moving average is $99.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $89.62. ONEOK, Inc. has a 1 year low of $65.49 and a 1 year high of $118.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

ONEOK (NYSE:OKE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by ($0.05). ONEOK had a return on equity of 16.84% and a net margin of 14.05%. The firm had revenue of $5.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.99 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that ONEOK, Inc. will post 5.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ONEOK Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a dividend of $0.99 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $3.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.52%. ONEOK’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. US Capital Advisors upgraded ONEOK from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on ONEOK from $100.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of ONEOK from $88.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of ONEOK from $89.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of ONEOK from $85.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $100.38.

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.