Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Cuts Stock Position in Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI)

Key Points

• Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd significantly reduced its stake in Kinder Morgan, Inc. by 45.2%, owning 31,758 shares worth approximately $906,000 after selling 26,247 shares in the first quarter.
• Kinder Morgan recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.2925 per share, representing an annualized yield of 4.17% and a payout ratio of 95.90%.
• Despite recent management changes, Kinder Morgan's stock remains strong, with analysts projecting a consensus earnings per share of 1.25 for the current year and a consensus price target of $31.13.

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd reduced its stake in Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI - Free Report) by 45.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,758 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 26,247 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd's holdings in Kinder Morgan were worth $906,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kinder Morgan by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 51,759,844 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,414,813,000 after acquiring an additional 1,252,609 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake 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 worth $573,834,000 after acquiring an additional 1,608,499 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in shares of Kinder Morgan by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 14,711,722 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $403,101,000 after buying an additional 2,116,576 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Kinder Morgan by 5.4% during the first quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP now owns 10,786,581 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $307,741,000 after buying an additional 553,395 shares during the period. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of Kinder Morgan by 22.6% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 8,195,545 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $224,556,000 after buying an additional 1,512,083 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.52% of the company's stock.

Kinder Morgan Stock Up 0.5%

NYSE KMI traded up $0.15 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $28.03. The company's stock had a trading volume of 18,111,872 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,476,546. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $27.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.57. Kinder Morgan, Inc. has a twelve month low of $19.68 and a twelve month high of $31.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.98, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.75.

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

Kinder Morgan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.2925 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.17%. Kinder Morgan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 95.90%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, President Thomas A. Martin sold 18,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.26, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 2.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Amy W. Chronis purchased 2,759 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $27.21 per share, for a total transaction of $75,072.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 34,764 shares of the company's stock, valued at $945,928.44. This represents a 8.62% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 12.73% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Kinder Morgan in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $34.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective 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. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $32.00 price objective (up from $31.00) on shares of Kinder Morgan in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Kinder Morgan from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Cowen started coverage on shares of Kinder Morgan in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $31.13.

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.