Targa Resources Corp. (NYSE:TRGP) Shares Sold by Westwood Holdings Group Inc.

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Targa Resources Corp. (NYSE:TRGP) by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,199,319 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 21,456 shares during the quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.’s holdings in Targa Resources were worth $154,448,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Summit Trail Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Targa Resources by 36.3% during the 2nd quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 3,646 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $470,000 after buying an additional 971 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in shares of Targa Resources by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 9,337 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,202,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of Targa Resources by 21.0% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 186,322 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $23,995,000 after purchasing an additional 32,323 shares during the last quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Targa Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,964,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in Targa Resources by 145.6% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 128,200 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $16,510,000 after buying an additional 76,000 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.13% of the company’s stock.

Targa Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:TRGP opened at $152.86 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.98. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $141.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $125.28. Targa Resources Corp. has a 52 week low of $77.97 and a 52 week high of $154.87. The company has a market cap of $33.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.45, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 2.26.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The pipeline company reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $3.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.33 billion. Targa Resources had a return on equity of 23.98% and a net margin of 6.60%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.44 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Targa Resources Corp. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Targa Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. Targa Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TRGP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Targa Resources from $124.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Targa Resources from $147.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Argus upgraded Targa Resources to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Targa Resources from $134.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Targa Resources from $116.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $141.77.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Targa Resources news, insider Robert Muraro sold 9,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.31, for a total value of $1,290,069.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 186,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,361,584.81. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CAO Julie H. Boushka sold 12,641 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.50, for a total value of $1,700,214.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 38,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,165,203.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Robert Muraro sold 9,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.31, for a total value of $1,290,069.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 186,951 shares in the company, valued at $24,361,584.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 35,534 shares of company stock worth $4,788,590 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.39% of the company’s stock.

About Targa Resources

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.