Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. Cuts Stake in Targa Resources Corp. (NYSE:TRGP)

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. reduced its stake in Targa Resources Corp. (NYSE:TRGP) by 10.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,176,843 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 138,807 shares during the period. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. owned approximately 0.53% of Targa Resources worth $102,232,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Targa Resources by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 80,828 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $6,929,000 after purchasing an additional 653 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Targa Resources by 806.8% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 77,484 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $6,642,000 after acquiring an additional 68,939 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its holdings in shares of Targa Resources by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 46,414 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $3,979,000 after acquiring an additional 4,036 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. raised its position in shares of Targa Resources by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 52,029 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $4,460,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Targa Resources by 26.3% during the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 44,619 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $3,825,000 after purchasing an additional 9,303 shares during the last quarter. 92.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Targa Resources Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of TRGP stock traded down $2.31 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $114.89. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 379,482 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,710,798. Targa Resources Corp. has a 12-month low of $67.36 and a 12-month high of $117.87. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $108.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $94.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.57 billion, a PE ratio of 31.93 and a beta of 2.21.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The pipeline company reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.26). The company had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.50 billion. Targa Resources had a return on equity of 18.64% and a net margin of 5.20%. On average, research analysts predict that Targa Resources Corp. will post 5.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Targa Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.61%. This is a positive change from Targa Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Targa Resources’s payout ratio is currently 54.50%.

Insider Activity at Targa Resources

In other news, CAO Julie H. Boushka sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.66, for a total transaction of $244,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 71,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,012,769.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Joe Bob Perkins sold 33,405 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.67, for a total value of $3,262,666.35. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 38,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,754,434.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Julie H. Boushka sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.66, for a total value of $244,150.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 71,808 shares in the company, valued at $7,012,769.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 81,966 shares of company stock valued at $7,987,215. Insiders own 1.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on TRGP. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Targa Resources from $111.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Targa Resources from $106.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Targa Resources from $104.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Mizuho lifted their price target on Targa Resources from $105.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Targa Resources from $116.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Targa Resources presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $119.55.

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.