Argent Trust Co Trims Stock Holdings in Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI)

Argent Trust Co cut its position in Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI) by 1.4% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 72,658 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the period. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in Kinder Morgan were worth $1,444,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of KMI. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in Kinder Morgan by 3,655.3% in the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 1,427 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 1,389 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kinder Morgan in the first quarter worth about $30,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Kinder Morgan during the first quarter worth about $31,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Kinder Morgan during the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Kinder Morgan by 92.5% in the second quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 1,925 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 925 shares during the period. 62.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kinder Morgan Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KMI opened at $21.62 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. Kinder Morgan, Inc. has a 52 week low of $15.89 and a 52 week high of $21.86.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.13 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.24 earnings per share. Kinder Morgan’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Kinder Morgan, Inc. will post 1.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kinder Morgan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st were given a dividend of $0.2875 per share. This represents a $1.15 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.32%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. Kinder Morgan’s payout ratio is currently 104.55%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on KMI shares. Tudor Pickering raised shares of Kinder Morgan to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. 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 research report on Friday, September 13th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Kinder Morgan from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Kinder Morgan from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Kinder Morgan from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.55.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, President Thomas A. Martin sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $19,261,400.73. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Kinder Morgan news, VP Sital K. Mody sold 21,413 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.25, for a total transaction of $455,026.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 25,169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $534,841.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, President Thomas A. Martin sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 148,311 shares of company stock worth $3,121,891. Insiders own 12.64% 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.