Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 74,648 Shares of Kinder Morgan, Inc. $KMI

Key Points

• Russell Investments trimmed its stake in Kinder Morgan by 3.5%, selling 74,648 shares and now holds 2,087,475 shares worth about $59.1 million (0.09% of the company).
• Insiders have been selling: 46,498 shares valued at $1.42 million were sold in the last 90 days, including VP Anthony B. Ashley (8,000 shares) and VP John W. Schlosser (6,166 shares), leaving insiders with 12.73% ownership.
• Dividend: Kinder Morgan pays a quarterly dividend of $0.2925 ($1.17 annualized) for a ~3.5% yield, though the payout ratio is relatively high at 85.4%.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lessened its position in shares of Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI - Free Report) by 3.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,087,475 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 74,648 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.09% of Kinder Morgan worth $59,106,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kinder Morgan in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $308,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its holdings in Kinder Morgan by 11.4% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 69,444 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $2,042,000 after buying an additional 7,081 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc grew its stake in Kinder Morgan by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 87,194 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $2,564,000 after buying an additional 1,030 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Kinder Morgan by 140.5% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 793,021 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $23,307,000 after acquiring an additional 463,232 shares during the period. Finally, Midwest Trust Co bought a new stake in Kinder Morgan during the 2nd quarter valued at $358,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.52% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Kinder Morgan

In related news, VP Anthony B. Ashley sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.95, for a total value of $255,600.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 100,146 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,199,664.70. This trade represents a 7.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP John W. Schlosser sold 6,166 shares of Kinder Morgan stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.67, for a total transaction of $207,609.22. Following the sale, the vice president owned 188,872 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,359,320.24. The trade was a 3.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 46,498 shares of company stock valued at $1,418,248 in the last ninety days. 12.73% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Kinder Morgan Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of KMI stock opened at $32.96 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $73.33 billion, a PE ratio of 24.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.68. Kinder Morgan, Inc. has a 52-week low of $23.94 and a 52-week high of $34.24. The business's fifty day moving average is $30.39 and its 200 day moving average is $28.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.64.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The pipeline company reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $4.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.33 billion. Kinder Morgan had a return on equity of 9.02% and a net margin of 18.04%.The firm's revenue was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.30 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Kinder Morgan, Inc. will post 1.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kinder Morgan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.2925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $1.17 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Kinder Morgan's payout ratio is presently 85.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on KMI. TD Cowen raised their price target on Kinder Morgan from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Kinder Morgan in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Kinder Morgan from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Kinder Morgan from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $38.00 price target on shares of Kinder Morgan in a report on Friday, December 12th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $33.08.

About Kinder Morgan

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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