Confluence Investment Management LLC Cuts Stake in Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI)

Confluence Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,390,944 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 93,615 shares during the period. Kinder Morgan makes up approximately 1.7% of Confluence Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Confluence Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Kinder Morgan were worth $120,312,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of KMI. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Kinder Morgan by 0.7% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 4,591,311 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $101,422,000 after purchasing an additional 29,861 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kinder Morgan by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 22,813 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $504,000 after buying an additional 776 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Kinder Morgan by 3.2% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,291,704 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $50,624,000 after buying an additional 71,984 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank increased its stake in shares of Kinder Morgan by 6.9% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 393,351 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $8,689,000 after buying an additional 25,406 shares during the period. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its holdings in Kinder Morgan by 1,512.7% in the third quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 88,583 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,956,000 after acquiring an additional 83,090 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.52% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Kinder Morgan from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Bank of America began coverage on Kinder Morgan in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $27.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Kinder Morgan from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Kinder Morgan from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Kinder Morgan from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $26.25.

Kinder Morgan Stock Performance

NYSE:KMI traded up $0.45 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $27.85. 3,595,437 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,711,549. Kinder Morgan, Inc. has a 1-year low of $16.47 and a 1-year high of $28.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.43, a P/E/G ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a 50-day moving average of $26.83 and a 200 day moving average of $23.35.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The pipeline company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.05 billion. Kinder Morgan had a return on equity of 7.87% and a net margin of 16.76%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.25 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Kinder Morgan, Inc. will post 1.18 EPS for the current year.

Kinder Morgan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued a $0.2875 dividend. This represents a $1.15 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. Kinder Morgan’s payout ratio is currently 100.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Amy W. Chronis purchased 2,241 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $24.89 per share, with a total value of $55,778.49. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 23,995 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $597,235.55. This trade represents a 10.30 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, President Thomas A. Martin sold 18,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.34, for a total transaction of $492,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 879,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,049,685.68. The trade was a 2.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 727,263 shares of company stock valued at $18,075,634 over the last three months. 12.64% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.