Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Increases Stake in Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its position in Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 67,365 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after buying an additional 690 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Kinder Morgan were worth $1,846,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in Kinder Morgan in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kinder Morgan in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kinder Morgan during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Kinder Morgan in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in Kinder Morgan by 178.0% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.52% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Kinder Morgan from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Kinder Morgan from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Kinder Morgan from $24.00 to $36.00 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 for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Kinder Morgan from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $29.64.

Insider Activity

In related news, President Thomas A. Martin sold 18,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.70, for a total value of $498,600.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 843,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,369,160.40. The trade was a 2.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP John W. Schlosser sold 75,461 shares of the 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 220,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. Insiders have sold 129,461 shares of company stock worth $3,490,996 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 12.64% of the company’s stock.

Kinder Morgan Stock Down 1.2 %

KMI stock opened at $28.48 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $27.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.28. The stock has a market cap of $63.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.34, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. Kinder Morgan, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.61 and a twelve 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 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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Kinder Morgan, Inc. will post 1.25 EPS for the current year.

Kinder Morgan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued 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 4.04%. Kinder Morgan’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.