Kinder Morgan, Inc. $KMI Shares Bought by HighTower Advisors LLC

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC increased its Kinder Morgan stake by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, buying 39,260 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 1,271,105 shares worth about $34.9 million.
• Kinder Morgan reported strong first-quarter results, posting earnings of $0.48 per share versus the $0.38 estimate, while revenue rose 13.8% year over year to $4.83 billion.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.2975 per share, or $1.19 annually, for a yield of 3.6%; analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with a $34.20 consensus price target.

HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI - Free Report) by 3.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,271,105 shares of the pipeline company's stock after purchasing an additional 39,260 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC owned about 0.06% of Kinder Morgan worth $34,943,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KMI. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kinder Morgan by 431.9% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,569,082 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $185,971,000 after acquiring an additional 5,333,986 shares during the last quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Kinder Morgan in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $138,477,000. Zimmer Partners LP lifted its holdings in shares of Kinder Morgan by 177.8% in the 3rd quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 6,070,100 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $171,845,000 after acquiring an additional 3,885,000 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new position in shares of Kinder Morgan in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $77,662,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Kinder Morgan by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 210,281,448 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $5,780,637,000 after acquiring an additional 2,165,130 shares during the last quarter. 62.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Kinder Morgan

In other Kinder Morgan news, VP John W. Schlosser sold 6,166 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.41, for a total value of $199,840.06. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 176,540 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,721,661.40. This represents a 3.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at 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 shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,456,809.45. This represents a 3.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 23,148 shares of company stock worth $763,434. 12.72% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Kinder Morgan Price Performance

Shares of KMI opened at $33.50 on Friday. Kinder Morgan, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $25.60 and a fifty-two week high of $34.81. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $32.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $30.19. The company has a market cap of $74.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.48, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 firm had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.55 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.34 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. Kinder Morgan has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.360-1.360 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Kinder Morgan, Inc. will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kinder Morgan Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 4th were paid a dividend of $0.2975 per share. This represents a $1.19 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. This is an increase from Kinder Morgan's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Kinder Morgan's payout ratio is currently 79.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on KMI shares. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Kinder Morgan from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Kinder Morgan from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Kinder Morgan in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Kinder Morgan from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Kinder Morgan from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kinder Morgan presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $34.20.

Kinder Morgan Company 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.

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