Targa Resources, Inc. $TRGP Shares Purchased by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its position in Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 212,921 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,006 shares during the period. Targa Resources accounts for 0.8% of Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Targa Resources were worth $39,284,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Korea Investment CORP increased its position in shares of Targa Resources by 37.4% in the 3rd quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 260,760 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $43,688,000 after acquiring an additional 70,998 shares during the period. NFC Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Targa Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at $8,478,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Targa Resources by 57.0% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 34,805 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $6,421,000 after acquiring an additional 12,640 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Targa Resources by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 19,643,139 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $3,291,012,000 after acquiring an additional 1,620,253 shares during the period. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor Inc. increased its position in shares of Targa Resources by 26.8% in the 3rd quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 1,242,347 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $208,143,000 after acquiring an additional 262,553 shares during the period. 92.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Targa Resources Price Performance

NYSE:TRGP opened at $259.62 on Wednesday. Targa Resources, Inc. has a one year low of $144.14 and a one year high of $280.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.64, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market cap of $55.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.25, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.72. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $256.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $224.49.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) last posted 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). Targa Resources had a net margin of 12.87% and a return on equity of 71.00%. The business had revenue of $4.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.68 billion. Research analysts expect that Targa Resources, Inc. will post 10.75 EPS for the current year.

Targa Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 30th. This is an increase from Targa Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Targa Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.56%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Charles R. Crisp sold 10,602 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.96, for a total transaction of $2,713,687.92. Following the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen upped their target price on Targa Resources from $236.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Targa Resources in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Seaport Research Partners reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Targa Resources in a report on Monday, May 4th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Targa Resources from $228.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $241.00 price target on shares of Targa Resources in a report on Friday, February 20th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $269.21.

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.