Principal Financial Group Inc. Increases Stock Position in Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI - Free Report) by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,291,704 shares of the pipeline company's stock after buying an additional 71,984 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.10% of Kinder Morgan worth $50,624,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in Kinder Morgan in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Kinder Morgan during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in Kinder Morgan during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Kinder Morgan in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, HM Payson & Co. grew its stake in shares of Kinder Morgan by 401.8% in the third quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 1,430 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,145 shares in the last quarter. 62.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kinder Morgan

In related news, Director C Park Shaper sold 690,142 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.75, for a total transaction of $17,081,014.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,809,858 shares of the company's stock, valued at $168,543,985.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Kinder Morgan news, VP Dax Sanders sold 1,729 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.00, for a total transaction of $36,309.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 307,409 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,455,589. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director C Park Shaper sold 690,142 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.75, for a total transaction of $17,081,014.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,809,858 shares in the company, valued at approximately $168,543,985.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 710,992 shares of company stock valued at $17,619,823. 12.64% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Kinder Morgan from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Kinder Morgan from $22.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley set a $26.00 price target on shares of Kinder Morgan in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Kinder Morgan from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Kinder Morgan from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $25.09.

Kinder Morgan Stock Performance

Shares of Kinder Morgan stock traded up $0.39 on Monday, hitting $27.27. The stock had a trading volume of 14,815,457 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,903,025. The stock has a market cap of $60.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. Kinder Morgan, Inc. has a 52-week low of $16.34 and a 52-week high of $27.33. The company's 50 day moving average price is $23.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $21.20.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The pipeline company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.27 by ($0.02). Kinder Morgan had a net margin of 16.76% and a return on equity of 7.87%. The business had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.25 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Kinder Morgan, Inc. will post 1.18 EPS for the current year.

Kinder Morgan Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.2875 per share. This represents a $1.15 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.22%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. Kinder Morgan's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.