Insider Selling: Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) VP Sells 8,000 Shares of Stock

Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI) VP Anthony Ashley sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.95, for a total transaction of $255,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 100,146 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,199,664.70. The trade was a 7.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Kinder Morgan Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KMI traded up $0.26 during trading on Thursday, reaching $32.55. 14,431,335 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,063,691. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. Kinder Morgan, Inc. has a 52 week low of $23.94 and a 52 week high of $32.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.41 billion, a PE ratio of 23.76, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.70. The company’s 50 day moving average is $28.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.62.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 21st. The pipeline company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $4.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.33 billion. Kinder Morgan had a return on equity of 9.02% and a net margin of 18.04%.Kinder Morgan’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.30 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Kinder Morgan, Inc. will post 1.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Kinder Morgan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 2nd were issued a $0.2925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $1.17 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. Kinder Morgan’s payout ratio is presently 85.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on KMI. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Kinder Morgan from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $38.00 target price on shares of Kinder Morgan in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley restated a “buy” rating on shares of Kinder Morgan in a report on Friday, January 30th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Kinder Morgan from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 14th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Kinder Morgan from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kinder Morgan presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.38.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kinder Morgan

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kinder Morgan during the 4th quarter worth approximately $308,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Kinder Morgan by 9.9% in the 2nd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 145,988 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $4,270,000 after buying an additional 13,150 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. lifted its holdings in shares of Kinder Morgan by 11.4% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 69,444 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,042,000 after acquiring an additional 7,081 shares during the period. Klingman & Associates LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kinder Morgan during the 2nd quarter valued at about $238,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. increased its stake in Kinder Morgan by 3.9% in the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 71,033 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $2,088,000 after acquiring an additional 2,682 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.52% of the company’s stock.

About Kinder Morgan

Kinder Morgan (NYSE: KMI) is a large energy infrastructure company that owns and operates an extensive network of pipelines and terminals across North America. Its core activities center on the transportation, storage and handling of energy products, including natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), crude oil, refined petroleum products and carbon dioxide. The company’s assets include long-haul and gathering pipelines, storage facilities, and multi-modal terminals that serve producers, refiners, utilities and industrial customers.

Kinder Morgan’s operations deliver midstream services such as pipeline transportation, terminaling, storage and related logistics and maintenance.