Targa Resources, Inc. $TRGP Shares Sold by Braun Stacey Associates Inc.

Braun Stacey Associates Inc. decreased its position in shares of Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP) by 98.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,050 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 126,437 shares during the period. Braun Stacey Associates Inc.’s holdings in Targa Resources were worth $343,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR boosted its stake in Targa Resources by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR now owns 30,010 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $5,028,000 after buying an additional 596 shares during the last quarter. Financial Consulate Inc. acquired a new position in Targa Resources in the third quarter valued at $168,000. Ninety One UK Ltd raised its holdings in Targa Resources by 15.3% in the third quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 86,785 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $14,540,000 after buying an additional 11,494 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. raised its stake in shares of Targa Resources by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 2,566 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $430,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the period. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Targa Resources by 27.0% in the 3rd quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 1,569 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $263,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares during the period. 92.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Targa Resources Trading Down 0.5%

TRGP opened at $184.63 on Friday. Targa Resources, Inc. has a 12-month low of $144.14 and a 12-month high of $218.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.91, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.63 billion, a PE ratio of 24.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.87. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $173.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $168.05.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The pipeline company reported $2.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.22 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $4.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.70 billion. Targa Resources had a return on equity of 51.87% and a net margin of 9.35%. As a group, research analysts expect that Targa Resources, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Targa Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 31st. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Targa Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Targa Resources news, insider Gerald R. Shrader sold 2,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.21, for a total transaction of $498,327.50. Following the transaction, the insider owned 29,561 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,356,748.81. This trade represents a 8.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider D. Scott Pryor sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.21, for a total value of $3,444,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 22,139 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,812,557.19. This trade represents a 47.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 1.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on TRGP shares. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Targa Resources from $198.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Targa Resources in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Targa Resources from $214.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered Targa Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Targa Resources from $205.00 to $207.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $210.79.

Targa Resources Company Profile

Targa Resources Corporation (NYSE: TRGP) is a U.S.-focused midstream energy company that provides gathering, processing, transportation, storage and marketing services for natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), and condensate. Its operations span the midstream value chain, including gas gathering systems that collect production from wells, processing plants that separate and recover NGLs and other hydrocarbons, fractionation and purification facilities that prepare NGLs for market, and pipeline and terminal assets that move and store products for producers, refiners and other customers.

The company operates a network of pipelines, processing plants, fractionators and storage facilities that serve producers and consumers across major U.S.