KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Takes Position in Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in shares of Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 794,684 shares of the pipeline company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,774,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Kinder Morgan by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 13,734,753 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $376,332,000 after acquiring an additional 1,093,242 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Kinder Morgan by 28.9% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 11,819,777 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $334,381,000 after acquiring an additional 2,650,040 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Kinder Morgan by 39.9% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 8,186,207 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $180,833,000 after acquiring an additional 2,334,273 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in shares of Kinder Morgan by 2.2% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 7,485,834 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $163,116,000 after acquiring an additional 164,152 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Kinder Morgan during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $157,804,000. Institutional investors own 62.52% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on KMI. Citigroup increased their price objective on Kinder Morgan from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Scotiabank began coverage on Kinder Morgan in a report on Friday, January 10th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $26.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Kinder Morgan from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Kinder Morgan from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Barclays upgraded Kinder Morgan from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $31.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $29.64.

Kinder Morgan Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KMI opened at $27.90 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.49 and a quick ratio of 0.39. Kinder Morgan, Inc. has a 1-year low of $17.61 and a 1-year high of $31.48. The company has a market capitalization of $61.98 billion, a PE ratio of 23.84, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $27.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $26.12.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The pipeline company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.33 by ($0.01). Kinder Morgan had a net margin of 17.31% and a return on equity of 8.09%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Kinder Morgan, Inc. will post 1.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kinder Morgan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a dividend of $0.2875 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.15 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.12%. Kinder Morgan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 98.29%.

Insider Activity at Kinder Morgan

In other Kinder Morgan news, President Thomas A. Martin sold 18,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.91, for a total value of $502,380.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 861,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,048,707.32. This trade represents a 2.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP John W. Schlosser sold 75,461 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.65, for a total value of $2,011,035.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 220,681 shares in the company, valued at $5,881,148.65. The trade was a 25.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 129,461 shares of company stock valued at $3,490,996 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 12.64% of the company’s stock.

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.