Teacher Retirement System of Texas Grows Position in Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its position in shares of Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI - Free Report) by 226.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 385,113 shares of the pipeline company's stock after purchasing an additional 267,113 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Kinder Morgan were worth $10,987,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Morton Capital Management LLC CA boosted its position in Kinder Morgan by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Morton Capital Management LLC CA now owns 37,981 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,084,000 after buying an additional 377 shares during the period. Diligent Investors LLC boosted its position in Kinder Morgan by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Diligent Investors LLC now owns 26,083 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $715,000 after buying an additional 381 shares during the period. Aspiriant LLC boosted its position in Kinder Morgan by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 23,738 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $677,000 after buying an additional 396 shares during the period. Sowell Financial Services LLC boosted its position 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 period. Finally, LRI Investments LLC boosted its position in Kinder Morgan by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 4,946 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $136,000 after buying an additional 435 shares during the period. 62.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kinder Morgan Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE:KMI opened at $28.37 on Friday. Kinder Morgan, Inc. has a 52 week low of $19.68 and a 52 week high of $31.48. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $27.80 and a 200 day moving average of $27.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.45, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.75.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The pipeline company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.34. Kinder Morgan had a return on equity of 8.11% and a net margin of 16.67%. The firm had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.02 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Kinder Morgan, Inc. will post 1.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kinder Morgan Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were paid a dividend of $0.2925 per share. This is a positive change from Kinder Morgan's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.12%. Kinder Morgan's dividend payout ratio is presently 100.86%.

Insider Transactions at Kinder Morgan

In other Kinder Morgan news, President Thomas A. Martin sold 18,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 771,652 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,806,885.52. This represents a 2.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 12.73% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on KMI shares. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Kinder Morgan in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Kinder Morgan from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted 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 report on Tuesday, April 29th. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $32.00 price target (up previously from $31.00) on shares of Kinder Morgan in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Kinder Morgan from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $30.29.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.