Arizona State Retirement System Boosts Position in Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI)

Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI - Free Report) by 5.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 603,008 shares of the pipeline company's stock after acquiring an additional 29,753 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System's holdings in Kinder Morgan were worth $17,204,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sierra Ocean LLC lifted its stake in Kinder Morgan by 927.1% during the 1st quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 873 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 788 shares in the last quarter. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new position in Kinder Morgan during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kinder Morgan during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Kinder Morgan during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, JNBA Financial Advisors increased its position in shares of Kinder Morgan by 669.2% during the 1st quarter. JNBA Financial Advisors now owns 1,000 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 870 shares during the last quarter. 62.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kinder Morgan Price Performance

NYSE:KMI traded up $0.30 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $28.14. The stock had a trading volume of 3,079,335 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,901,458. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $27.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.24, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.75. Kinder Morgan, Inc. has a one year low of $19.68 and a one year high of $31.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.45.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The pipeline company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34. The company had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.02 billion. Kinder Morgan had a return on equity of 8.11% and a net margin of 16.67%. As a group, analysts expect that Kinder Morgan, Inc. will post 1.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Kinder Morgan Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were paid a $0.2925 dividend. This is a boost from Kinder Morgan's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.16%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. Kinder Morgan's payout ratio is 100.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KMI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Kinder Morgan from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley set a $34.00 price objective on Kinder Morgan in a report on Monday, July 7th. TD Cowen began coverage on Kinder Morgan in a report on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $34.00 price objective for the company. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $32.00 price objective (up previously from $31.00) on shares of Kinder Morgan in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Kinder Morgan from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kinder Morgan currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $30.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kinder Morgan news, President Thomas A. Martin sold 18,000 shares of Kinder Morgan stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the president directly owned 771,652 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,806,885.52. The trade was a 2.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 12.73% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.