Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Cuts Position in Targa Resources, Inc. $TRGP

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP) by 5.4% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 460,440 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 26,080 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Targa Resources were worth $115,446,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Woodline Partners LP lifted its holdings in shares of Targa Resources by 40.7% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 18,423 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $3,693,000 after acquiring an additional 5,327 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its position in Targa Resources by 157.4% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 3,931 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $788,000 after purchasing an additional 2,404 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Targa Resources by 6.3% in the 2nd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,697 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $644,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its holdings in Targa Resources by 13.1% in the 2nd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 4,521 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $787,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in Targa Resources by 11.0% in the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 31,881 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $5,550,000 after purchasing an additional 3,163 shares during the period. 92.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Targa Resources Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of Targa Resources stock traded up $0.22 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $273.24. 744,006 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,284,316. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $265.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $235.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.64. The company has a market cap of $58.65 billion, a PE ratio of 27.63, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.71. Targa Resources, Inc. has a twelve month low of $144.14 and a twelve month high of $280.00.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The pipeline company reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.48 by ($0.27). The business had revenue of $4.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.68 billion. Targa Resources had a return on equity of 71.00% and a net margin of 12.87%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Targa Resources, Inc. will post 10.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Targa Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. This is a boost from Targa Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Targa Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on TRGP shares. US Capital Advisors cut Targa Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Targa Resources in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Targa Resources from $327.00 to $331.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Barclays boosted their price target on Targa Resources from $262.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Targa Resources in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $281.93.

Insider Transactions at Targa Resources

In other Targa Resources news, Director Charles R. Crisp sold 10,602 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.96, for a total value of $2,713,687.92. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 66,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,019,292.32. This represents a 13.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.