Targa Resources Corp. (NYSE:TRGP) Shares Sold by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System decreased its stake in shares of Targa Resources Corp. (NYSE:TRGP) by 1.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 205,162 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 2,416 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System owned about 0.09% of Targa Resources worth $26,421,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in TRGP. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Targa Resources by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,015,992 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $3,025,521,000 after acquiring an additional 201,817 shares during the period. Blackstone Inc. grew its position in Targa Resources by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Blackstone Inc. now owns 9,695,457 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,085,794,000 after purchasing an additional 252,729 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Targa Resources during the 4th quarter valued at about $187,123,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Targa Resources by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,139,543 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $185,862,000 after buying an additional 115,288 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Targa Resources by 14.5% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,858,920 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $161,479,000 after buying an additional 234,749 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.13% of the company’s stock.

Targa Resources Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:TRGP traded up $0.61 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $146.90. 2,325,456 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,618,626. Targa Resources Corp. has a 1 year low of $77.97 and a 1 year high of $147.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $135.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $119.84. The firm has a market cap of $32.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 2.27.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The pipeline company reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.12. Targa Resources had a return on equity of 23.98% and a net margin of 6.60%. The company had revenue of $3.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.44 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Targa Resources Corp. will post 5.88 EPS for the current year.

Targa Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st were issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. Targa Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Robert Muraro sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.08, for a total value of $1,200,800.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 196,951 shares in the company, valued at $23,649,876.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Targa Resources news, CAO Julie H. Boushka sold 1,213 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.02, for a total transaction of $160,140.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 52,257 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,898,969.14. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Robert Muraro sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.08, for a total transaction of $1,200,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 196,951 shares in the company, valued at $23,649,876.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 43,034 shares of company stock valued at $5,623,890 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.39% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on TRGP. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Targa Resources from $116.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Targa Resources from $134.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Targa Resources from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Argus began coverage on shares of Targa Resources in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Targa Resources from $128.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Targa Resources currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.54.

Targa Resources Company 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.