New York State Common Retirement Fund Buys 7,400 Shares of Targa Resources, Inc. $TRGP

New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its stake in shares of Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP) by 5.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 140,355 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,400 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Targa Resources were worth $23,515,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Targa Resources by 1.4% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,960,214 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $4,867,314,000 after buying an additional 375,939 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Targa Resources by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,856,899 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,022,222,000 after acquiring an additional 95,611 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Targa Resources in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $708,366,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in Targa Resources by 12.0% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,886,844 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $328,462,000 after purchasing an additional 201,927 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in shares of Targa Resources by 7.2% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,601,244 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $278,745,000 after purchasing an additional 107,028 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TRGP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Targa Resources from $213.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $224.00 price target on shares of Targa Resources in a report on Friday, January 16th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Targa Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $266.00 price objective on shares of Targa Resources in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $213.00 target price on shares of Targa Resources in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have given 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.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Targa Resources news, insider D. Scott Pryor sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 22,139 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,812,557.19. The trade was a 47.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Gerald R. Shrader sold 2,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.21, for a total value of $498,327.50. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 29,561 shares in the company, valued at $5,356,748.81. This trade represents a 8.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Targa Resources Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE TRGP opened at $201.10 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $182.65 and its 200 day moving average is $170.23. The stock has a market cap of $43.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.87. Targa Resources, Inc. has a 1-year low of $144.14 and a 1-year high of $211.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.91.

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

Targa Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 30th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Targa Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.19%.

Targa Resources 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.