Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI) Shares Sold by Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.

Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 99,349 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 3,445 shares during the period. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Kinder Morgan were worth $2,722,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KMI. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG boosted its holdings in Kinder Morgan by 17.4% in the fourth quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG now owns 56,379 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,545,000 after purchasing an additional 8,363 shares during the period. Summit Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Kinder Morgan by 258.0% during the 4th quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 39,435 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,081,000 after buying an additional 28,420 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Kinder Morgan by 15.2% during the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 523,550 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $14,345,000 after acquiring an additional 69,085 shares in the last quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Kinder Morgan in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in Kinder Morgan by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 483,434 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $13,676,000 after purchasing an additional 32,243 shares during the last quarter. 62.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, President Thomas A. Martin sold 18,000 shares of Kinder Morgan stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.61, for a total value of $478,980.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 825,652 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,970,599.72. The trade was a 2.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP John W. Schlosser sold 75,461 shares of Kinder Morgan 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 owns 220,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,881,148.65. This trade represents a 25.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 129,461 shares of company stock worth $3,490,996. 12.64% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Kinder Morgan from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays raised Kinder Morgan from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $31.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Kinder Morgan from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Kinder Morgan from $25.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Kinder Morgan from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kinder Morgan has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.64.

Kinder Morgan Price Performance

Kinder Morgan stock opened at $28.39 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $27.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.49 and a quick ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.26, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. Kinder Morgan, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.61 and a 12-month high of $31.48.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The pipeline company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.01). Kinder Morgan had a return on equity of 8.09% and a net margin of 17.31%. Equities analysts predict that Kinder Morgan, Inc. will post 1.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Kinder Morgan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.05%. Kinder Morgan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 98.29%.

About Kinder Morgan

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.