Cerity Partners LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Kinder Morgan, Inc. $KMI

Key Points

• Cerity Partners LLC boosted its Kinder Morgan stake by 8.8% in the fourth quarter, adding 85,625 shares and bringing its total holding to 1,056,258 shares worth about $29.0 million.
• Institutional ownership remains high, with hedge funds and other institutions controlling 62.52% of Kinder Morgan shares. Several other firms, including Kayne Anderson and Vanguard, also increased their positions.
• Analysts are mixed but generally positive: Kinder Morgan has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $34.20, while the company also reported stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings and raised its dividend to $0.2975 per share.

Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI - Free Report) by 8.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,056,258 shares of the pipeline company's stock after acquiring an additional 85,625 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Kinder Morgan were worth $29,037,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in Kinder Morgan by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,231,845 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $34,874,000 after buying an additional 46,396 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP raised its position in Kinder Morgan by 15.6% in the 3rd quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP now owns 12,452,111 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $352,519,000 after buying an additional 1,682,241 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. raised its position in Kinder Morgan by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 869,127 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $24,605,000 after buying an additional 99,540 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank raised its position in Kinder Morgan by 14.4% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 252,210 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $7,140,000 after buying an additional 31,662 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Kinder Morgan by 0.4% in the 3rd 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.52% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Kinder Morgan from $36.00 to $34.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Kinder Morgan from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Kinder Morgan in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Kinder Morgan from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Truist Financial initiated coverage on Kinder Morgan in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $38.00 target price for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $34.20.

Insider Activity at Kinder Morgan

In related news, VP John W. Schlosser sold 6,166 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.83, for a total value of $196,263.78. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 170,374 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,423,004.42. This represents a 3.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Michael P. Garthwaite sold 1,550 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.65, for a total transaction of $52,157.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 43,293 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,456,809.45. This represents a 3.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 23,148 shares of company stock valued at $752,089 over the last three months. 12.72% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Kinder Morgan Stock Up 1.7%

KMI opened at $31.87 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Kinder Morgan, Inc. has a 1-year low of $25.60 and a 1-year high of $34.81. The company has a market capitalization of $70.91 billion, a PE ratio of 21.39, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.54. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $32.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $30.71.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The pipeline company reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.10. Kinder Morgan had a net margin of 18.92% and a return on equity of 9.90%. The business had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.55 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.34 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. Kinder Morgan has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.360-1.360 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Kinder Morgan, Inc. will post 1.49 EPS for the current year.

Kinder Morgan Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th were given a $0.2975 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. This is a boost from Kinder Morgan's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.19 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. Kinder Morgan's payout ratio is 79.87%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.