RiverFront Investment Group LLC Increases Stake in Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI)

RiverFront Investment Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI) by 79.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 56,122 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 24,870 shares during the period. RiverFront Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Kinder Morgan were worth $1,538,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Kinder Morgan during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Kinder Morgan in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Modus Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kinder Morgan in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Kinder Morgan in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Kinder Morgan by 178.0% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,098 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 703 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.52% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on KMI shares. Mizuho increased their price objective on Kinder Morgan from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Kinder Morgan from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Kinder Morgan from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Scotiabank started coverage on Kinder Morgan in a report on Friday, January 10th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $26.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Kinder Morgan from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven 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 $29.64.

Insider Transactions at Kinder Morgan

In other Kinder Morgan news, VP John W. Schlosser sold 75,461 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, President Thomas A. Martin sold 18,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.61, for a total value of $478,980.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 825,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,970,599.72. This represents a 2.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 129,461 shares of company stock valued at $3,490,996. 12.64% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Kinder Morgan Stock Performance

NYSE KMI opened at $28.39 on Friday. Kinder Morgan, Inc. has a 52-week low of $17.61 and a 52-week high of $31.48. The stock has a market cap of $63.07 billion, a PE ratio of 24.26, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $27.48 and a 200-day moving average of $26.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.49.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The pipeline company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) 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 EPS for the current year.

Kinder Morgan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a dividend of $0.2875 per share. This represents a $1.15 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.05%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. Kinder Morgan’s payout ratio is 98.29%.

Kinder Morgan Company Profile

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.