Strategy Asset Managers LLC Buys 20,266 Shares of Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI)

Key Points

• Strategy Asset Managers LLC increased its stake in Kinder Morgan by 7.1%, holding a total of 305,692 shares valued at approximately $8.72 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Insider transactions included VP Sital K. Mody selling 45,549 shares for over $1.27 million, highlighting active insider trading within the company.
• Kinder Morgan announced a quarterly dividend of $0.2925, translating to an annualized yield of 4.2% with a high payout ratio of 95.90%.

Strategy Asset Managers LLC boosted its holdings in Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI - Free Report) by 7.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 305,692 shares of the pipeline company's stock after acquiring an additional 20,266 shares during the quarter. Kinder Morgan accounts for about 1.8% of Strategy Asset Managers LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Strategy Asset Managers LLC's holdings in Kinder Morgan were worth $8,721,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KMI. Morton Capital Management LLC CA boosted its position in Kinder Morgan by 1.0% during 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. Diligent Investors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kinder Morgan by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Diligent Investors LLC now owns 26,083 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $715,000 after buying an additional 381 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kinder Morgan by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 21,068 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $601,000 after buying an additional 381 shares during the period. Aspiriant LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kinder Morgan by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 23,738 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $677,000 after buying an additional 396 shares during the period. Finally, Sowell Financial Services LLC grew its stake in Kinder Morgan by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC now owns 79,825 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $2,277,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.52% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Kinder Morgan from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Kinder Morgan from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Kinder Morgan from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $32.00 price target (up from $31.00) on shares of Kinder Morgan in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Cowen began coverage on shares of Kinder Morgan in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $31.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Sital K. Mody sold 45,549 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.96, for a total transaction of $1,273,550.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, President Thomas A. Martin sold 18,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.26, for a total transaction of $508,680.00. Following the sale, the president directly owned 771,652 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,806,885.52. The trade was a 2.28% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 109,715 shares of company stock valued at $3,081,245 over the last ninety days. 12.73% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Kinder Morgan Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KMI traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $26.78. The stock had a trading volume of 17,704,609 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,759,392. The company's 50-day moving average price is $27.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.49. Kinder Morgan, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $20.56 and a fifty-two week high of $31.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The company has a market capitalization of $59.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.78.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The pipeline company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28. Kinder Morgan had a net margin of 17.06% and a return on equity of 8.31%. The business had revenue of $4.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.75 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.26 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict 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 will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be paid a $0.2925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.17 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.4%. Kinder Morgan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 95.90%.

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.