Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Has $871.34 Million Stock Position in ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE) by 21.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,408,725 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,153,295 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 2.13% of ONEOK worth $871,341,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of ONEOK by 10.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,237,038 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,757,405,000 after purchasing an additional 5,525,010 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in ONEOK by 37.7% in the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 13,292,341 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $843,133,000 after acquiring an additional 3,636,660 shares in the last quarter. Blackstone Inc. increased its holdings in shares of ONEOK by 3,478.3% during the third quarter. Blackstone Inc. now owns 3,578,316 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $226,973,000 after acquiring an additional 3,478,316 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of ONEOK by 65.9% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,132,301 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $515,832,000 after purchasing an additional 3,229,046 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ONEOK by 5,247.1% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,463,929 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $173,017,000 after purchasing an additional 2,417,849 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on OKE shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of ONEOK from $84.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. StockNews.com raised ONEOK from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. US Capital Advisors downgraded ONEOK from an “overweight” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of ONEOK from $88.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Raymond James increased their target price on shares of ONEOK from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, ONEOK presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.58.

Insider Transactions at ONEOK

In related news, Director Wayne Thomas Smith purchased 2,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $75.25 per share, with a total value of $203,175.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $203,175. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

ONEOK Stock Performance

Shares of ONEOK stock traded up $0.88 on Wednesday, reaching $79.25. 888,525 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,957,755. ONEOK, Inc. has a 52 week low of $55.91 and a 52 week high of $81.81. The company has a 50 day moving average of $78.52 and a 200 day moving average of $72.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.25 billion, a PE ratio of 18.15, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.48.

ONEOK (NYSE:OKE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.03. ONEOK had a net margin of 12.54% and a return on equity of 15.94%. The company had revenue of $4.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.34 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that ONEOK, Inc. will post 4.95 earnings per share for the current year.

ONEOK Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be paid a $0.99 dividend. This represents a $3.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.00%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 30th. ONEOK’s dividend payout ratio is presently 92.09%.

ONEOK announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, January 17th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the utilities provider to buy up to 4.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.