Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI) Shares Sold by Whittier Trust Co.

Whittier Trust Co. cut its position in shares of Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI - Free Report) by 15.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 68,351 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 12,702 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co.'s holdings in Kinder Morgan were worth $1,949,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Morton Capital Management LLC CA boosted its position in shares of Kinder Morgan by 1.0% in the first quarter. Morton Capital Management LLC CA now owns 37,981 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,084,000 after acquiring an additional 377 shares during the last quarter. Diligent Investors LLC boosted its position in shares of Kinder Morgan by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Diligent Investors LLC now owns 26,083 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $715,000 after acquiring an additional 381 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in shares of Kinder Morgan by 1.8% in the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 21,068 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $601,000 after acquiring an additional 381 shares during the last quarter. Aspiriant LLC boosted its position in shares of Kinder Morgan by 1.7% in the first quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 23,738 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $677,000 after acquiring an additional 396 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sowell Financial Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Kinder Morgan by 0.5% in the first quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC now owns 79,825 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $2,277,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. 62.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kinder Morgan news, President Thomas A. Martin sold 18,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the president owned 771,652 shares in the company, valued at $21,806,885.52. The trade was a 2.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 12.73% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on KMI. Cowen began coverage on shares of Kinder Morgan in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $32.00 price target (up from $31.00) on shares of Kinder Morgan in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Kinder Morgan from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley set a $34.00 price target on shares of Kinder Morgan in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Kinder Morgan in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $34.00 price target on the stock. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $31.00.

Kinder Morgan Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of NYSE:KMI traded up $0.40 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $27.89. The company had a trading volume of 18,792,404 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,821,146. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.35. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $28.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.86, a PEG ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.75. Kinder Morgan, Inc. has a one year low of $19.68 and a one year high of $31.48.

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

Kinder Morgan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.2925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.17 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.20%. Kinder Morgan's payout ratio is 95.90%.

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.