Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI) Stock Position Lessened by WealthTrust Axiom LLC

WealthTrust Axiom LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 547,802 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 6,746 shares during the quarter. Kinder Morgan makes up approximately 4.5% of WealthTrust Axiom LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. WealthTrust Axiom LLC’s holdings in Kinder Morgan were worth $15,010,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Kinder Morgan by 39.9% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 8,186,207 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $180,833,000 after acquiring an additional 2,334,273 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kinder Morgan in the third quarter valued at approximately $826,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Kinder Morgan in the 3rd quarter worth about $386,000. Blankinship & Foster LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kinder Morgan by 128.4% during the third quarter. Blankinship & Foster LLC now owns 46,900 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,036,000 after acquiring an additional 26,363 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Kinder Morgan by 1.7% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 103,618 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,289,000 after acquiring an additional 1,769 shares during the last quarter. 62.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kinder Morgan Trading Up 2.5 %

NYSE KMI opened at $26.43 on Friday. Kinder Morgan, Inc. has a 12 month low of $17.61 and a 12 month high of $31.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.59, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.72. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $26.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.49 and a quick ratio of 0.39.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The pipeline company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.01). Kinder Morgan had a return on equity of 8.09% and a net margin of 17.31%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Kinder Morgan, Inc. will post 1.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Kinder Morgan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.2875 per share. This represents a $1.15 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. Kinder Morgan’s payout ratio is 98.29%.

Insider Activity at Kinder Morgan

In other Kinder Morgan news, VP John W. Schlosser sold 75,461 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.65, for a total value of $2,011,035.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 220,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,881,148.65. This trade represents a 25.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, President Thomas A. Martin sold 18,000 shares of Kinder Morgan stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.61, for a total value of $478,980.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 825,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,970,599.72. This trade represents a 2.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 129,461 shares of company stock worth $3,506,116 in the last three months. 12.64% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on KMI shares. Barclays upgraded Kinder Morgan from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $31.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Kinder Morgan from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Kinder Morgan from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup increased their price target on Kinder Morgan from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Scotiabank assumed coverage on Kinder Morgan in a report on Friday, January 10th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $26.00 target price for the company. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.64.

About Kinder Morgan

Kinder Morgan, Inc operates as an energy infrastructure company primarily in North America. The company operates through Natural Gas Pipelines, Products Pipelines, Terminals, and CO2 segments. The Natural Gas Pipelines segment owns and operates interstate and intrastate natural gas pipeline, and storage systems; natural gas gathering systems and natural gas processing and treating facilities; natural gas liquids fractionation facilities and transportation systems; and liquefied natural gas gasification, liquefaction, and storage facilities.