66,872 Shares in Targa Resources, Inc. $TRGP Acquired by Empowered Funds LLC

Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 66,872 shares of the pipeline company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,931,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of TRGP. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Targa Resources in the fourth quarter worth $735,758,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Targa Resources in the second quarter valued at $734,846,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in shares of Targa Resources during the 2nd quarter valued at $336,575,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Targa Resources by 48.5% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,290,099 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $607,023,000 after purchasing an additional 1,075,246 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in Targa Resources during the 2nd quarter worth about $275,702,000. Institutional investors own 92.13% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Waters S. Iv Davis sold 2,400 shares of Targa Resources stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.67, for a total transaction of $719,208.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,529 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $458,195.43. The trade was a 61.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Charles R. Crisp sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.23, for a total transaction of $870,690.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 62,292 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,079,007.16. This trade represents a 4.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Targa Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE TRGP opened at $288.38 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $275.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $257.11. Targa Resources, Inc. has a twelve month low of $144.14 and a twelve month high of $307.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.01.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The pipeline company reported $3.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by $0.71. The firm had revenue of $4.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.90 billion. Targa Resources had a return on equity of 69.26% and a net margin of 13.55%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Targa Resources, Inc. will post 11.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Targa Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st were paid a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 31st. Targa Resources’s payout ratio is currently 47.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on TRGP. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $318.00 target price on shares of Targa Resources in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Targa Resources from $333.00 to $343.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Targa Resources from $249.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Targa Resources from $291.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, US Capital Advisors cut shares of Targa Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $298.71.

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.