National Pension Service Buys 5,833 Shares of Targa Resources, Inc. $TRGP

National Pension Service boosted its stake in shares of Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP) by 2.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 255,308 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,833 shares during the period. National Pension Service’s holdings in Targa Resources were worth $42,774,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insider Transactions at Targa Resources

In other news, insider Gerald R. Shrader sold 2,750 shares of the company’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 transaction of $498,327.50. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 29,561 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,356,748.81. This represents a 8.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider D. Scott Pryor sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.21, for a total transaction of $3,444,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 22,139 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. 1.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Targa Resources Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of TRGP opened at $198.69 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $42.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.91, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.61. Targa Resources, Inc. has a 1 year low of $144.14 and a 1 year high of $211.87. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $183.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $170.48.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The pipeline company reported $2.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 51.87% and a net margin of 9.35%. On average, equities analysts expect that Targa Resources, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Targa Resources Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on TRGP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Targa Resources from $214.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Targa Resources from $185.00 to $196.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $266.00 price target on shares of Targa Resources in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $213.00 price objective on Targa Resources in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $196.00 target price on shares of Targa Resources in a report on Monday, January 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $213.50.

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.