Columbus Macro LLC Acquires New Position in Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI)

Columbus Macro LLC purchased a new position in Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 319,941 shares of the pipeline company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,766,000. Kinder Morgan makes up about 1.2% of Columbus Macro LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Kinder Morgan during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Kinder Morgan in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in Kinder Morgan in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Kinder Morgan in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp grew its holdings in Kinder Morgan by 143.6% in the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 1,352 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 797 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.52% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kinder Morgan

In other news, President Thomas A. Martin sold 19,121 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.28, for a total transaction of $502,499.88. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 897,652 shares in the company, valued at $23,590,294.56. This trade represents a 2.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 55,121 shares of company stock valued at $1,497,000 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 12.81% of the company’s stock.

Kinder Morgan Price Performance

KMI stock opened at $27.59 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $27.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.76. Kinder Morgan, Inc. has a 52-week low of $16.47 and a 52-week high of $31.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The pipeline company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) 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 expect that Kinder Morgan, Inc. will post 1.28 EPS for the current year.

Kinder Morgan Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a $0.2875 dividend. This represents a $1.15 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.17%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. Kinder Morgan’s dividend payout ratio is currently 98.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on KMI shares. Citigroup raised their target price on Kinder Morgan from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Kinder Morgan from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Kinder Morgan from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Kinder Morgan from $27.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Kinder Morgan from $24.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Kinder Morgan presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $29.14.

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.