Vanguard Group Inc. Acquires 1,302,794 Shares of Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI)

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. has increased its stake in Kinder Morgan, Inc. by 0.6%, owning approximately 9.19% of the company with a value of nearly $5.83 billion.
• The company reported earnings of $0.28 per share for the recent quarter, meeting analyst expectations, and achieved a revenue of $4.04 billion, exceeding forecasts.
• A quarterly dividend of $0.2925 per share has been announced, providing a yield of 4.4%, with a significant dividend payout ratio of 95.90%.

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI - Free Report) by 0.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 204,148,872 shares of the pipeline company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,302,794 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 9.19% of Kinder Morgan worth $5,824,367,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Kinder Morgan by 37.5% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 20,281,385 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $578,628,000 after buying an additional 5,529,065 shares during the period. MGB Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kinder Morgan during the 1st quarter worth $244,000. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Kinder Morgan by 14.1% during the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 6,442,093 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $183,793,000 after buying an additional 794,388 shares during the period. Wealthspire Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kinder Morgan by 31.7% during the 1st quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 10,808 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $308,000 after buying an additional 2,602 shares during the period. Finally, iA Global Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Kinder Morgan by 307.2% during the 1st quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 91,540 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $2,612,000 after buying an additional 69,057 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.52% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Kinder Morgan

In other news, VP Sital K. Mody sold 45,549 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.96, for a total value of $1,273,550.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Amy W. Chronis bought 2,759 shares of Kinder Morgan stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $27.21 per share, for a total transaction of $75,072.39. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 34,764 shares in the company, valued at $945,928.44. This represents a 8.62% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 109,715 shares of company stock valued at $3,081,245. 12.73% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Kinder Morgan Stock Performance

KMI stock traded up $0.13 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $26.89. The stock had a trading volume of 15,114,704 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,056,652. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.78. Kinder Morgan, Inc. has a 52 week low of $20.56 and a 52 week high of $31.48. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The pipeline company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.28. The firm had revenue of $4.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.75 billion. Kinder Morgan had a return on equity of 8.31% and a net margin of 17.06%. Kinder Morgan's quarterly revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.26 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Kinder Morgan, Inc. will post 1.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Kinder Morgan Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a $0.2925 dividend. This represents a $1.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. Kinder Morgan's dividend payout ratio is 95.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Kinder Morgan in a report on Monday, July 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $34.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley set a $34.00 price objective on shares of Kinder Morgan in a report on Monday, July 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Kinder Morgan from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Kinder Morgan from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Kinder Morgan from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $31.13.

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.