Clearbridge Investments LLC Trims Stake in Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI)

Clearbridge Investments LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI) by 24.9% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 8,353,663 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 2,776,976 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Kinder Morgan were worth $165,988,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in Kinder Morgan by 3,655.3% in the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 1,427 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,389 shares during the period. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in Kinder Morgan in the second quarter worth about $30,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Kinder Morgan in the first quarter worth about $30,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kinder Morgan during the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Kinder Morgan during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.52% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, President Thomas A. Martin sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.01, for a total value of $2,101,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 916,773 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,261,400.73. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Dax Sanders sold 1,729 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.00, for a total transaction of $36,309.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 307,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,455,589. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, President Thomas A. Martin sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.01, for a total value of $2,101,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 916,773 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,261,400.73. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 148,311 shares of company stock valued at $3,121,891 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 12.64% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on KMI shares. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Kinder Morgan from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $18.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Kinder Morgan from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Kinder Morgan from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Kinder Morgan from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $24.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Kinder Morgan from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.55.

Kinder Morgan Price Performance

NYSE:KMI opened at $22.59 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $21.31 and its 200 day moving average is $19.95. Kinder Morgan, Inc. has a 12 month low of $15.89 and a 12 month high of $22.63. The company has a market capitalization of $50.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.54, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The pipeline company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.26 by ($0.01). Kinder Morgan had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 15.93%. The firm had revenue of $3.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.13 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.24 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Kinder Morgan, Inc. will post 1.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kinder Morgan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were paid a $0.2875 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $1.15 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.09%. Kinder Morgan’s payout ratio is currently 104.55%.

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.