Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp Reduces Stake in Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI)

Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp lowered its holdings in Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI) by 4.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 26,371 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 1,348 shares during the quarter. Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp’s holdings in Kinder Morgan were worth $723,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Kinder Morgan by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 4,591,311 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $101,422,000 after purchasing an additional 29,861 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Kinder Morgan by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,291,704 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $50,624,000 after purchasing an additional 71,984 shares during the period. Golden State Equity Partners lifted its position in Kinder Morgan by 2,507.9% during the 4th quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 16,430 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $450,000 after acquiring an additional 15,800 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Kinder Morgan by 39.9% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 8,186,207 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $180,833,000 after acquiring an additional 2,334,273 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in Kinder Morgan by 116.1% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 210,645 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $5,772,000 after acquiring an additional 113,173 shares during the period. 62.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Kinder Morgan

In other Kinder Morgan news, VP John W. Schlosser sold 75,461 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.65, for a total transaction of $2,011,035.65. Following the transaction, the vice president now 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, President Thomas A. Martin sold 18,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 843,652 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,369,160.40. This represents a 2.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 111,461 shares of company stock worth $3,012,016. 12.64% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KMI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Mizuho increased their price objective on Kinder Morgan from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Kinder Morgan in a research report on Friday, January 10th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $26.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Kinder Morgan from $24.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Kinder Morgan from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Kinder Morgan from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $29.64.

Kinder Morgan Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KMI opened at $26.76 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $59.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.87, a P/E/G 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 52 week low of $17.45 and a 52 week high of $31.48. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.65.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) last issued 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Kinder Morgan, Inc. will post 1.25 EPS for the current year.

Kinder Morgan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a $0.2875 dividend. This represents a $1.15 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.30%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. Kinder Morgan’s payout ratio is currently 98.29%.

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.