Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE Acquires New Shares in Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI)

Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE purchased a new position in shares of Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 55,444 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $1,582,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kinder Morgan during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Kinder Morgan in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Kinder Morgan during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new position in shares of Kinder Morgan during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kinder Morgan in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. 62.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kinder Morgan Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:KMI traded down $0.05 during trading on Friday, hitting $27.61. The stock had a trading volume of 13,024,872 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,055,832. The company has a market capitalization of $61.34 billion, a PE ratio of 23.59, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The firm's fifty day moving average is $27.28 and its 200 day moving average is $27.44. Kinder Morgan, Inc. has a 12 month low of $19.47 and a 12 month high of $31.48.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The pipeline company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34. Kinder Morgan had a return on equity of 8.09% and a net margin of 17.31%. The business had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.02 billion. Analysts anticipate that Kinder Morgan, Inc. will post 1.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kinder Morgan Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were issued a dividend of $0.2925 per share. This represents a $1.17 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.24%. This is a positive change from Kinder Morgan's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. Kinder Morgan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.86%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on KMI. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Kinder Morgan from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Kinder Morgan from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Kinder Morgan in a report on Monday, May 5th. Barclays raised shares of Kinder Morgan from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $31.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Kinder Morgan from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $30.21.

Insider Transactions at Kinder Morgan

In other news, President Thomas A. Martin sold 18,000 shares of Kinder Morgan stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.57, for a total value of $496,260.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 789,652 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,770,705.64. The trade was a 2.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 54,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,522,440 in the last ninety days. 12.73% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.