Sonora Investment Management Group LLC Grows Stock Position in Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI)

Sonora Investment Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI) by 4.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 254,642 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,492 shares during the period. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC’s holdings in Kinder Morgan were worth $6,977,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Kinder Morgan by 11.2% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 457,238 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $9,040,000 after acquiring an additional 45,917 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in Kinder Morgan by 16.4% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 391,908 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $7,787,000 after buying an additional 55,207 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Kinder Morgan during the 2nd quarter valued at about $52,000. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in shares of Kinder Morgan by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 1,428,295 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $28,380,000 after purchasing an additional 8,078 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Kinder Morgan during the second quarter worth about $8,597,000. 62.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kinder Morgan Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of NYSE:KMI opened at $28.08 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $62.37 billion, a PE ratio of 24.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.49 and a quick ratio of 0.35. Kinder Morgan, Inc. has a 1 year low of $16.47 and a 1 year high of $31.48. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $28.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.62.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) last released 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 return on equity of 8.09% and a net margin of 17.31%. Analysts forecast that Kinder Morgan, Inc. will post 1.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Kinder Morgan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a $0.2875 dividend. This represents a $1.15 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. Kinder Morgan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 98.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on KMI. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Kinder Morgan from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Kinder Morgan from $24.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Mizuho upped their target price on Kinder Morgan from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America started coverage on Kinder Morgan in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $27.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Kinder Morgan in a research note on Friday, January 10th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $26.00 target price on the stock. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Amy W. Chronis bought 2,241 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $24.89 per share, with a total value of $55,778.49. Following the transaction, the director now owns 23,995 shares in the company, valued at approximately $597,235.55. This trade represents a 10.30 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, President Thomas A. Martin sold 19,121 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.28, for a total transaction of $502,499.88. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 897,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,590,294.56. The trade was a 2.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 55,121 shares of company stock worth $1,497,000. 12.64% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.