ING Groep NV Buys 38,584 Shares of Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI)

Key Points

• ING Groep NV increased its stake in Kinder Morgan, Inc. by 15.6% during the first quarter, purchasing an additional 38,584 shares, bringing its total holdings to 285,639 shares valued at approximately $8.15 million.
• Analysts from reputable firms have set target prices for Kinder Morgan, with Barclays raising its target from $31.00 to $32.00 and TD Cowen issuing a $34.00 target, indicating a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".
• Kinder Morgan recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.2925, reflecting a 4.1% dividend yield, with a payout ratio currently at 95.90%.

ING Groep NV lifted its stake in Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI - Free Report) by 15.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 285,639 shares of the pipeline company's stock after buying an additional 38,584 shares during the period. ING Groep NV's holdings in Kinder Morgan were worth $8,149,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Kinder Morgan by 212.5% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 5,468,235 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $156,009,000 after purchasing an additional 3,718,521 shares during the last quarter. Blackstone Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Kinder Morgan by 435.0% during the 4th quarter. Blackstone Inc. now owns 4,358,263 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $119,416,000 after buying an additional 3,543,670 shares during the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP acquired a new stake in Kinder Morgan during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $62,499,000. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Kinder Morgan by 66.8% during the 4th quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 5,647,705 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $154,747,000 after buying an additional 2,261,924 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kinder Morgan by 39.1% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 7,788,045 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $213,392,000 after acquiring an additional 2,191,165 shares during the period. 62.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kinder Morgan Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of KMI traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $26.78. The company's stock had a trading volume of 17,704,609 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,759,392. Kinder Morgan, Inc. has a 1 year low of $20.56 and a 1 year high of $31.48. The business has a fifty day moving average of $27.92 and a 200 day moving average of $27.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The company has a market cap of $59.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.78.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI - Get Free Report) last released 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. The company had revenue of $4.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.75 billion. Kinder Morgan had a net margin of 17.06% and a return on equity of 8.31%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.26 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Kinder Morgan, Inc. will post 1.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kinder Morgan Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.2925 per share. This represents a $1.17 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. Kinder Morgan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 95.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KMI has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Kinder Morgan from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Kinder Morgan from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Kinder Morgan from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Kinder Morgan from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Kinder Morgan in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $34.00 target price for the company. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $31.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kinder Morgan

In other Kinder Morgan news, Director Amy W. Chronis bought 2,759 shares of Kinder Morgan stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $27.21 per share, with a total value of $75,072.39. Following the acquisition, the director owned 34,764 shares in the company, valued at $945,928.44. This trade represents a 8.62% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, President Thomas A. Martin sold 18,000 shares of Kinder Morgan stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $21,806,885.52. The trade was a 2.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 109,715 shares of company stock worth $3,081,245 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 12.73% of the company's stock.

About Kinder Morgan

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.