Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC Purchases Shares of 95,521 Kinder Morgan, Inc. $KMI

Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 95,521 shares of the pipeline company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,626,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Kinder Morgan by 0.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 208,116,318 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $5,891,773,000 after buying an additional 896,837 shares during the last quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd lifted its position in shares of Kinder Morgan by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 22,635,179 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $665,474,000 after buying an additional 670,856 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Kinder Morgan by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 22,165,368 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $627,502,000 after purchasing an additional 216,039 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Kinder Morgan by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 16,551,759 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $468,588,000 after purchasing an additional 205,820 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in shares of Kinder Morgan by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 15,878,898 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $449,532,000 after purchasing an additional 213,741 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.52% of the company’s stock.

Kinder Morgan Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KMI opened at $32.71 on Monday. Kinder Morgan, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $25.42 and a fifty-two week high of $34.73. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $32.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.25. The company has a market capitalization of $72.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.64.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The pipeline company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.02. Kinder Morgan had a net margin of 18.04% and a return on equity of 9.02%. The business had revenue of $4.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.30 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Kinder Morgan, Inc. will post 1.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kinder Morgan Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.2925 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $1.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Kinder Morgan’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.40%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Anthony B. Ashley sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.95, for a total value of $255,600.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 100,146 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,199,664.70. This trade represents a 7.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO David Patrick Michels sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total transaction of $600,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 139,428 shares in the company, valued at $4,182,840. This represents a 12.54% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 48,048 shares of company stock valued at $1,503,406. Company insiders own 12.72% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on KMI shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Kinder Morgan from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Kinder Morgan from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Kinder Morgan from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Kinder Morgan from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Kinder Morgan from $31.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kinder Morgan has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $34.33.

Kinder Morgan Profile

Kinder Morgan (NYSE: KMI) is a large energy infrastructure company that owns and operates an extensive network of pipelines and terminals across North America. Its core activities center on the transportation, storage and handling of energy products, including natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), crude oil, refined petroleum products and carbon dioxide. The company’s assets include long-haul and gathering pipelines, storage facilities, and multi-modal terminals that serve producers, refiners, utilities and industrial customers.

Kinder Morgan’s operations deliver midstream services such as pipeline transportation, terminaling, storage and related logistics and maintenance.