Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. Sells 3,540 Shares of ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE)

Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. lowered its position in ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE) by 5.5% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 60,890 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,540 shares during the period. ONEOK makes up about 1.5% of Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc.’s holdings in ONEOK were worth $6,042,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Greenline Partners LLC acquired a new position in ONEOK in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in ONEOK in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in ONEOK in the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Canton Hathaway LLC acquired a new position in ONEOK in the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in ONEOK in the 4th quarter worth $48,000. 69.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ONEOK Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:OKE opened at $83.74 on Friday. ONEOK, Inc. has a 52-week low of $75.48 and a 52-week high of $118.07. The company has a market capitalization of $52.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.77 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $83.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $94.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.81.

ONEOK (NYSE:OKE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.28 by ($0.24). ONEOK had a net margin of 14.05% and a return on equity of 16.84%. The firm had revenue of $6.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.09 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that ONEOK, Inc. will post 5.07 earnings per share for the current year.

ONEOK Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 5th were paid a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 5th. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.92%. ONEOK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 80.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on OKE shares. Scotiabank reduced their target price 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. Barclays reduced their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective 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. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of ONEOK from $110.00 to $102.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.69.

About ONEOK

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.