Clearbridge Investments LLC Reduces Stock Position in Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI)

Clearbridge Investments LLC decreased its position in Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI) by 24.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,353,663 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 2,776,976 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned approximately 0.38% of Kinder Morgan worth $165,988,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its holdings in Kinder Morgan by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 165,827 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $3,295,000 after purchasing an additional 530 shares during the period. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Kinder Morgan by 1.4% during the second quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 39,525 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $785,000 after buying an additional 545 shares during the period. Newman Dignan & Sheerar Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Kinder Morgan by 4.3% during the first quarter. Newman Dignan & Sheerar Inc. now owns 13,173 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $242,000 after acquiring an additional 547 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Kinder Morgan by 4.4% in the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 13,415 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $267,000 after acquiring an additional 566 shares during the period. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its holdings in Kinder Morgan by 3.7% in the second quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 15,967 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $317,000 after acquiring an additional 571 shares in the last quarter. 62.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Kinder Morgan Price Performance

KMI opened at $22.59 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $50.14 billion, a PE ratio of 20.54, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.93. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $21.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.95. Kinder Morgan, Inc. has a 1 year low of $15.89 and a 1 year high of $22.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.28.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) last issued its earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.13 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.24 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Kinder Morgan, Inc. will post 1.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kinder Morgan Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on KMI shares. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Kinder Morgan from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Kinder Morgan from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley raised Kinder Morgan from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $24.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Kinder Morgan from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target on Kinder Morgan from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.55.

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.