Alliancebernstein L.P. Sells 35,690 Shares of Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI)

Alliancebernstein L.P. decreased its stake in Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,165,664 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 35,690 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 0.10% of Kinder Morgan worth $59,339,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Kinder Morgan during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Kinder Morgan during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kinder Morgan during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Kinder Morgan in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Kinder Morgan by 178.0% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,098 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 703 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.52% of the company’s stock.

Kinder Morgan Stock Performance

Shares of KMI stock opened at $25.27 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $27.20 and a 200 day moving average of $26.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.59, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. Kinder Morgan, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.61 and a 52 week high of $31.48.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The pipeline company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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, research analysts expect that Kinder Morgan, Inc. will post 1.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Kinder Morgan Dividend Announcement

The company 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.55%. Kinder Morgan’s dividend payout ratio is presently 98.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on KMI. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Kinder Morgan from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Kinder Morgan from $24.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Scotiabank started coverage on Kinder Morgan in a research note on Friday, January 10th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $26.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Kinder Morgan from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Kinder Morgan from $30.00 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 issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.64.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, President Thomas A. Martin sold 18,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.61, for a total transaction of $478,980.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 825,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,970,599.72. The trade was a 2.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP John W. Schlosser sold 75,461 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.65, for a total transaction of $2,011,035.65. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 220,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,881,148.65. This represents a 25.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 129,461 shares of company stock valued at $3,506,116 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 12.81% of the company’s stock.

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.