Blue Trust Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Targa Resources Corp. (NYSE:TRGP)

Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Targa Resources Corp. (NYSE:TRGP) by 54.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,034 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,423 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Targa Resources were worth $720,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Targa Resources during the second quarter worth $29,000. DT Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Targa Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Targa Resources during the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its position in shares of Targa Resources by 49.4% in the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 269 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in Targa Resources by 39.6% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 374 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. 92.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on TRGP. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Targa Resources in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $182.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Targa Resources from $173.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Targa Resources from $171.00 to $204.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Targa Resources from $190.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, US Capital Advisors lowered shares of Targa Resources from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $189.21.

Insider Activity at Targa Resources

In other news, CAO Julie H. Boushka sold 3,260 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.74, for a total transaction of $621,812.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 35,143 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,703,175.82. The trade was a 8.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider D. Scott Pryor sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.33, for a total value of $5,709,900.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 82,979 shares in the company, valued at $15,793,393.07. This trade represents a 26.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.39% of the company’s stock.

Targa Resources Trading Up 0.5 %

TRGP opened at $203.33 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.34 billion, a PE ratio of 36.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 2.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.05, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.61. Targa Resources Corp. has a 12-month low of $84.33 and a 12-month high of $218.51. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $193.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $167.69.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The pipeline company reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $3.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.24 billion. Targa Resources had a return on equity of 27.59% and a net margin of 7.65%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.97 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Targa Resources Corp. will post 6.42 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 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.48%. Targa Resources’s payout ratio is currently 54.25%.

Targa Resources 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.