Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Lowers Holdings in Kinder Morgan, Inc. $KMI

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management decreased its position in Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI) by 65.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 28,023 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 54,162 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in Kinder Morgan were worth $793,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new stake in shares of Kinder Morgan during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Kinder Morgan during the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Kinder Morgan by 94.9% in the third quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 1,222 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 595 shares during the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Kinder Morgan by 314.6% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,360 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,032 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Kinder Morgan in the 2nd quarter worth about $40,000. 62.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on KMI. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Kinder Morgan in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Kinder Morgan from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Kinder Morgan from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Kinder Morgan in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $38.00 target price on shares of Kinder Morgan in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Kinder Morgan presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.38.

Insider Transactions at Kinder Morgan

In related news, Director William A. Smith acquired 3,000 shares of Kinder Morgan stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $29.75 per share, with a total value of $89,250.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 31,087 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $924,838.25. The trade was a 10.68% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Anthony B. Ashley sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.95, for a total value of $255,600.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 100,146 shares in the company, valued at $3,199,664.70. The trade was a 7.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 46,498 shares of company stock valued at $1,382,115 over the last quarter. 12.73% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Kinder Morgan Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of KMI opened at $32.71 on Tuesday. Kinder Morgan, Inc. has a 12-month low of $23.94 and a 12-month high of $33.24. The business’s 50 day moving average is $28.98 and its 200 day moving average is $27.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The company has a market capitalization of $72.77 billion, a PE ratio of 23.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.70.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The pipeline company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.02. Kinder Morgan had a net margin of 18.04% and a return on equity of 9.02%. The firm had revenue of $4.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.30 earnings per share. Kinder Morgan’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Kinder Morgan, Inc. will post 1.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kinder Morgan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.2925 per share. This represents a $1.17 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 2nd. Kinder Morgan’s dividend payout ratio is 85.40%.

About Kinder Morgan

Kinder Morgan (NYSE: KMI) is a large energy infrastructure company that owns and operates an extensive network of pipelines and terminals across North America. Its core activities center on the transportation, storage and handling of energy products, including natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), crude oil, refined petroleum products and carbon dioxide. The company’s assets include long-haul and gathering pipelines, storage facilities, and multi-modal terminals that serve producers, refiners, utilities and industrial customers.

Kinder Morgan’s operations deliver midstream services such as pipeline transportation, terminaling, storage and related logistics and maintenance.