Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Increases Stock Position in Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI) by 0.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 656,766 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 774 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Kinder Morgan were worth $17,995,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Duquesne Family Office LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kinder Morgan by 74.0% in the 2nd quarter. Duquesne Family Office LLC now owns 6,753,165 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $134,185,000 after buying an additional 2,872,665 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its stake in Kinder Morgan by 39.9% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 8,186,207 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $180,833,000 after purchasing an additional 2,334,273 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in shares of Kinder Morgan by 295.5% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 2,937,055 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $64,879,000 after purchasing an additional 2,194,489 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kinder Morgan by 1,849.7% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,164,637 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $47,817,000 after buying an additional 2,053,612 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in Kinder Morgan by 20.6% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 7,770,943 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $154,409,000 after buying an additional 1,328,082 shares during the period. 62.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Kinder Morgan from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Kinder Morgan from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Bank of America began coverage on Kinder Morgan in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $27.00 target price for the company. UBS Group upped their price target on Kinder Morgan from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $26.00 price objective on Kinder Morgan in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $26.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, President Thomas A. Martin sold 19,121 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.28, for a total value of $502,499.88. Following the transaction, the president now owns 897,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,590,294.56. This represents a 2.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Amy W. Chronis purchased 2,241 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $24.89 per share, with a total value of $55,778.49. Following the purchase, the director now owns 23,995 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $597,235.55. The trade was a 10.30 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 745,263 shares of company stock worth $18,578,014. Insiders own 12.81% of the company’s stock.

Kinder Morgan Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KMI opened at $28.20 on Friday. Kinder Morgan, Inc. has a 12 month low of $16.47 and a 12 month high of $28.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market cap of $62.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a 50 day moving average of $27.31 and a 200 day moving average of $23.76.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The pipeline company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.27 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.05 billion. Kinder Morgan had a return on equity of 7.87% and a net margin of 16.76%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.25 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Kinder Morgan, Inc. will post 1.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kinder Morgan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued a dividend of $0.2875 per share. This represents a $1.15 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.08%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. Kinder Morgan’s payout ratio is 100.88%.

Kinder Morgan 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.