Targa Resources, Inc. $TRGP Position Increased by Alps Advisors Inc.

Alps Advisors Inc. grew its position in Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP) by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 143,904 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after buying an additional 7,497 shares during the quarter. Alps Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Targa Resources were worth $24,110,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in TRGP. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Targa Resources in the second quarter valued at $708,366,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its holdings in shares of Targa Resources by 441.3% during the second quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 675,352 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $117,565,000 after buying an additional 550,591 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Targa Resources by 306.6% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 601,370 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $104,686,000 after buying an additional 453,460 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Targa Resources by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,960,214 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $4,867,314,000 after acquiring an additional 375,939 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lifted its stake in Targa Resources by 290.5% in the 2nd quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 503,770 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $87,696,000 after acquiring an additional 374,768 shares in the last quarter. 92.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on TRGP. Weiss Ratings upgraded Targa Resources from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $266.00 price objective on shares of Targa Resources in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Targa Resources from $213.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $196.00 target price on shares of Targa Resources in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Targa Resources from $205.00 to $207.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Targa Resources has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $213.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Targa Resources Price Performance

Shares of TRGP opened at $211.59 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.91, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market cap of $45.42 billion, a PE ratio of 28.14, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.88. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $185.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $171.58. Targa Resources, Inc. has a twelve month low of $144.14 and a twelve month high of $211.87.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) last posted 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.70 billion. Targa Resources had a net margin of 9.35% and a return on equity of 51.87%. As a group, research analysts expect that Targa Resources, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Targa Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be given a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 30th. Targa Resources’s payout ratio is currently 53.19%.

About Targa Resources

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.