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

Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp lowered its position in shares of Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,371 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 1,348 shares during the period. Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp’s holdings in Kinder Morgan were worth $723,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Kinder Morgan by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 13,734,753 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $376,332,000 after buying an additional 1,093,242 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP grew its stake in Kinder Morgan by 0.7% in the third quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP now owns 10,550,002 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $233,050,000 after purchasing an additional 69,307 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its stake in Kinder Morgan by 39.9% in the third 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 last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in Kinder Morgan by 2.2% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 7,485,834 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $163,116,000 after purchasing an additional 164,152 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Kinder Morgan in the fourth quarter valued at about $157,804,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.52% of the company’s stock.

Kinder Morgan Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of KMI opened at $26.76 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.49. Kinder Morgan, Inc. has a one year low of $17.45 and a one year high of $31.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.87, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $27.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.65.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 8.09% and a net margin of 17.31%. Equities research analysts forecast that Kinder Morgan, Inc. will post 1.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kinder Morgan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a $0.2875 dividend. This represents a $1.15 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. Kinder Morgan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 98.29%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP John W. Schlosser sold 75,461 shares of the 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,881,148.65. This represents a 25.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, President Thomas A. Martin sold 18,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.91, for a total value of $502,380.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 861,652 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,048,707.32. This trade represents a 2.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 111,461 shares of company stock valued at $3,012,016 in the last quarter. Insiders own 12.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on KMI. Barclays raised Kinder Morgan from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $31.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Kinder Morgan from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Kinder Morgan from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Kinder Morgan from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Kinder Morgan from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $29.64.

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.