Franklin Resources Inc. Decreases Stake in Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI)

Franklin Resources Inc. cut its position in shares of Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI - Free Report) by 7.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,058,646 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 84,310 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.'s holdings in Kinder Morgan were worth $29,007,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kinder Morgan in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Kinder Morgan in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Kinder Morgan during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Kinder Morgan during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Kinder Morgan by 178.0% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,098 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 703 shares during the last quarter. 62.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kinder Morgan Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:KMI traded up $1.08 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $26.29. The company had a trading volume of 26,250,993 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,952,645. The company has a market cap of $58.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.47, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.49 and a quick ratio of 0.39. The company has a fifty day moving average of $27.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $26.71. Kinder Morgan, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.61 and a 12-month high of $31.48.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The pipeline company reported $0.32 EPS 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Kinder Morgan, Inc. will post 1.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kinder Morgan Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.2875 per share. This represents a $1.15 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. Kinder Morgan's dividend payout ratio is currently 98.29%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, President Thomas A. Martin sold 18,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.75, for a total value of $517,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 807,652 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,219,995. This represents a 2.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP John W. Schlosser sold 75,461 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.65, for a total value of $2,011,035.65. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 220,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,881,148.65. This represents a 25.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 129,461 shares of company stock worth $3,506,116 over the last three months. 12.64% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on KMI shares. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Kinder Morgan from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Kinder Morgan in a report on Friday, January 10th. They issued a "sector perform" rating and a $26.00 target price for the company. UBS Group upped their price target on Kinder Morgan from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Kinder Morgan from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Kinder Morgan from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $31.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kinder Morgan presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $29.64.

Kinder Morgan Company 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.