Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Lowers Stake in Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI)

Key Points

• Lord Abbett & CO. LLC reduced its holdings in Kinder Morgan, Inc. by 15.1%, now owning approximately 4.29 million shares valued at $122.38 million.
• Kinder Morgan reported a quarterly EPS of $0.28, matching analyst expectations, and revenue of $4.04 billion, surpassing estimates by $290 million.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.2925, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 4.4% and a payout ratio of 95.90%.

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI - Free Report) by 15.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,289,424 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 760,888 shares during the quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC owned about 0.19% of Kinder Morgan worth $122,377,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Morton Capital Management LLC CA grew its holdings in Kinder Morgan by 1.0% in the first quarter. Morton Capital Management LLC CA now owns 37,981 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,084,000 after purchasing an additional 377 shares during the period. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Kinder Morgan by 0.8% in the first quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 48,943 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,396,000 after purchasing an additional 378 shares during the period. Diligent Investors LLC grew its holdings in Kinder Morgan by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Diligent Investors LLC now owns 26,083 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $715,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in Kinder Morgan by 1.8% in the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 21,068 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $601,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares during the period. Finally, Aspiriant LLC grew its holdings in Kinder Morgan by 1.7% in the first quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 23,738 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $677,000 after purchasing an additional 396 shares during the period. 62.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kinder Morgan Price Performance

KMI stock traded down $0.16 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $26.69. The company had a trading volume of 13,657,267 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,484,992. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.53. Kinder Morgan, Inc. has a 1 year low of $20.56 and a 1 year high of $31.48. The company has a market capitalization of $59.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.88, a P/E/G ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.78. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $27.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $27.37.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The pipeline company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28. The business had revenue of $4.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.75 billion. Kinder Morgan had a net margin of 17.06% and a return on equity of 8.31%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.26 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate 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 was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a dividend of $0.2925 per share. This represents a $1.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. Kinder Morgan's dividend payout ratio is currently 95.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on KMI shares. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Kinder Morgan from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Kinder Morgan in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $34.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Kinder Morgan from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Kinder Morgan from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Kinder Morgan from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued 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 an average target price of $31.20.

Insider Activity at Kinder Morgan

In related news, EVP Dax Sanders sold 30,127 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.05, for a total value of $814,935.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 292,000 shares in the company, valued at $7,898,600. This trade represents a 9.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO David Patrick Michels sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.19, for a total transaction of $1,127,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 159,428 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,494,275.32. The trade was a 20.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 139,842 shares of company stock worth $3,896,180 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 12.73% of the company's stock.

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.