Essex Financial Services Inc. Sells 5,251 Shares of Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI)

Essex Financial Services Inc. decreased its position in shares of Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI) by 10.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 42,878 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 5,251 shares during the quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Kinder Morgan were worth $1,175,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of KMI. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Kinder Morgan during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kinder Morgan in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Kinder Morgan in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in Kinder Morgan during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp increased its holdings in Kinder Morgan by 143.6% during the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 1,352 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 797 shares in the last quarter. 62.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kinder Morgan Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KMI opened at $26.78 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.01. Kinder Morgan, Inc. has a 1-year low of $16.47 and a 1-year high of $31.48. The firm has a market cap of $59.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.94.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The pipeline company reported $0.32 earnings per share 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%. Analysts anticipate that Kinder Morgan, Inc. will post 1.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Kinder Morgan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given 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 is Monday, February 3rd. Kinder Morgan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 98.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KMI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Mizuho raised their target price on Kinder Morgan from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Kinder Morgan in a research note on Friday, January 10th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $26.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Kinder Morgan from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Kinder Morgan from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Kinder Morgan from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $29.14.

Insider Activity at Kinder Morgan

In related news, President Thomas A. Martin sold 18,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.91, for a total transaction of $502,380.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 861,652 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,048,707.32. The trade was a 2.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 54,000 shares of company stock worth $1,493,100. 12.64% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.