Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Makes New Investment in Targa Resources Corp. (NYSE:TRGP)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in Targa Resources Corp. (NYSE:TRGP) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 13,500 shares of the pipeline company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,173,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of TRGP. CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of Targa Resources by 18.1% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,126 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Targa Resources by 137.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,012 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $87,000 after buying an additional 585 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Targa Resources by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,810 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $412,000 after buying an additional 380 shares during the last quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Targa Resources in the 3rd quarter worth $200,000. Finally, Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of Targa Resources in the 3rd quarter worth $88,000. Institutional investors own 92.13% of the company’s stock.

Targa Resources Price Performance

NYSE:TRGP opened at $113.51 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $106.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $93.10. The stock has a market cap of $25.26 billion, a PE ratio of 30.93 and a beta of 2.21. Targa Resources Corp. has a 52 week low of $67.36 and a 52 week high of $117.61.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The pipeline company reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.26). The business had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.50 billion. Targa Resources had a net margin of 5.20% and a return on equity of 18.64%. As a group, analysts forecast that Targa Resources Corp. will post 5.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Targa Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.64%. This is a boost from Targa Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. Targa Resources’s payout ratio is 54.50%.

Insider Transactions at Targa Resources

In other news, CAO Julie H. Boushka sold 2,500 shares of Targa Resources stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.66, for a total value of $244,150.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 71,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,012,769.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider D. Scott Pryor sold 10,000 shares of Targa Resources stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.00, for a total value of $970,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 156,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,141,506. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Julie H. Boushka sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.66, for a total value of $244,150.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 71,808 shares in the company, valued at $7,012,769.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 81,966 shares of company stock valued at $7,987,215. 1.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on TRGP. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Targa Resources from $105.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Citigroup raised their price target on Targa Resources from $104.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. UBS Group lowered their target price on Targa Resources from $109.00 to $108.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Targa Resources from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on Targa Resources from $105.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Targa Resources has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $119.55.

Targa Resources Profile

Targa Resources Corp., together with its subsidiary, Targa Resources Partners LP, owns, operates, acquires, and develops a portfolio of complementary domestic midstream infrastructure assets in North America. It operates in two segments, Gathering and Processing, and Logistics and Transportation. The company is involved in gathering, compressing, treating, processing, transporting, and selling natural gas; storing, fractionating, treating, transporting, and selling natural gas liquids (NGL) and NGL products, including services to liquefied petroleum gas exporters; and gathering, storing, terminaling, purchasing, and selling crude oil.