Rafferty Asset Management LLC Sells 14,184 Shares of Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI - Free Report) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 445,826 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 14,184 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Kinder Morgan were worth $12,216,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new position in Kinder Morgan in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in Kinder Morgan in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Kinder Morgan in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new position in Kinder Morgan in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Kinder Morgan in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. 62.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kinder Morgan Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:KMI traded down $0.03 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $27.97. 7,642,931 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,955,729. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $27.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $27.34. Kinder Morgan, Inc. has a 52-week low of $18.83 and a 52-week high of $31.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.49. The stock has a market cap of $62.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.74.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The pipeline company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.34. Kinder Morgan had a net margin of 17.31% and a return on equity of 8.09%. The company had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.02 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Kinder Morgan, Inc. will post 1.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kinder Morgan Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were given a dividend of $0.2925 per share. This represents a $1.17 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.18%. This is an increase from Kinder Morgan's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. Kinder Morgan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.86%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KMI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays raised shares of Kinder Morgan from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $31.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Kinder Morgan from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Kinder Morgan from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Kinder Morgan from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Kinder Morgan in a report on Monday, May 5th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $29.79.

Insider Activity

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, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.75, for a total value of $517,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 807,652 shares in the company, valued at $23,219,995. This represents a 2.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 54,000 shares of company stock worth $1,492,740 in the last three months. Company insiders own 12.73% of the company's stock.

Kinder Morgan 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.