Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. Decreases Stock Position in Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI)

Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. lessened its holdings in Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI) by 8.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 475,983 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 44,123 shares during the period. Kinder Morgan comprises 3.2% of Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd.’s holdings in Kinder Morgan were worth $13,042,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in KMI. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in Kinder Morgan by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 746,981 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $20,467,000 after acquiring an additional 26,542 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Kinder Morgan by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 13,734,753 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $376,332,000 after buying an additional 1,093,242 shares during the period. Synergy Financial Group LTD raised its stake in Kinder Morgan by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Synergy Financial Group LTD now owns 13,515 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $370,000 after buying an additional 694 shares during the last quarter. Mengis Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Kinder Morgan during the fourth quarter worth $210,000. Finally, CWS Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Kinder Morgan during the fourth quarter worth $227,000. 62.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kinder Morgan Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE KMI opened at $26.47 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. Kinder Morgan, Inc. has a 12 month low of $17.02 and a 12 month high of $31.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.80 billion, a PE ratio of 22.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.40.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The pipeline company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.33 by ($0.01). Kinder Morgan had a return on equity of 8.09% and a net margin of 17.31%. Equities analysts expect that Kinder Morgan, Inc. will post 1.25 earnings per share 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 paid a dividend of $0.2875 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.15 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.35%. Kinder Morgan’s dividend payout ratio is currently 98.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kinder Morgan

In other news, President Thomas A. Martin sold 18,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.91, for a total transaction of $502,380.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 861,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,048,707.32. This trade represents a 2.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP John W. Schlosser sold 75,461 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.65, for a total transaction of $2,011,035.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 220,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,881,148.65. The trade was a 25.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 129,461 shares of company stock worth $3,504,136. 12.64% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KMI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group lifted 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. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Kinder Morgan from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Kinder Morgan from $24.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup lifted their target price 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. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Kinder Morgan from $25.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $29.14.

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.