Wedbush Securities Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI)

Wedbush Securities Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI) by 3.4% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 76,853 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 2,668 shares during the quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in Kinder Morgan were worth $2,193,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kinder Morgan by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 51,759,844 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,414,813,000 after purchasing an additional 1,252,609 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Kinder Morgan in the fourth quarter valued at $917,523,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Kinder Morgan by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 20,942,841 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $573,834,000 after buying an additional 1,608,499 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in shares of Kinder Morgan by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 14,711,722 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $403,101,000 after buying an additional 2,116,576 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Kinder Morgan by 5.4% in the first quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP now owns 10,786,581 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $307,741,000 after buying an additional 553,395 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.52% of the company’s stock.

Kinder Morgan Price Performance

KMI stock opened at $26.79 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Kinder Morgan, Inc. has a 52-week low of $19.68 and a 52-week high of $31.48. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $27.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.58. The company has a market capitalization of $59.53 billion, a PE ratio of 21.96, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.75.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The pipeline company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28. Kinder Morgan had a return on equity of 8.31% and a net margin of 17.06%. The firm had revenue of $4.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.75 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.26 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Kinder Morgan, Inc. will post 1.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kinder Morgan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued a $0.2925 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.17 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.37%. Kinder Morgan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 95.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kinder Morgan

In other news, President Thomas A. Martin sold 18,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.26, for a total value of $508,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president owned 771,652 shares in the company, valued at $21,806,885.52. This represents a 2.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 12.73% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KMI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $32.00 price target (up previously from $31.00) on shares of Kinder Morgan in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Kinder Morgan in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $34.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Kinder Morgan from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Cowen began coverage on shares of Kinder Morgan in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $34.00 price target on Kinder Morgan in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kinder Morgan currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.00.

Kinder Morgan 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.