Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $61.91 Million Holdings in Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its position in Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI - Free Report) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,259,503 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 32,201 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.10% of Kinder Morgan worth $61,910,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Kinder Morgan in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Modus Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Kinder Morgan in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Kinder Morgan during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in Kinder Morgan during the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 797 shares in the last quarter. 62.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kinder Morgan Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE KMI traded down $0.33 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $26.26. 7,703,947 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,446,055. Kinder Morgan, Inc. has a 12 month low of $17.02 and a 12 month high of $31.48. The company has a market capitalization of $58.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.43, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 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 0.39. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.26.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI - Get Free Report) last issued 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Kinder Morgan, Inc. will post 1.25 EPS for the current year.

Kinder Morgan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a $0.2875 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.15 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.38%. Kinder Morgan's dividend payout ratio is presently 98.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on KMI. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Kinder Morgan from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Kinder Morgan from $24.00 to $36.00 in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Scotiabank began coverage on Kinder Morgan in a research note on Friday, January 10th. They issued a "sector perform" rating and a $26.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Kinder Morgan from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on Kinder Morgan from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kinder Morgan presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $29.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, President Thomas A. Martin sold 18,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.70, for a total value of $498,600.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 843,652 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,369,160.40. The trade was a 2.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value 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 trade represents a 25.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 129,461 shares of company stock valued at $3,504,136. 12.64% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.