QRG Capital Management Inc. Acquires 2,048 Shares of Targa Resources Corp. (NYSE:TRGP)

QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Targa Resources Corp. (NYSE:TRGP) by 33.9% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 8,086 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,048 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Targa Resources were worth $1,197,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Targa Resources by 0.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,015,992 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $3,025,521,000 after buying an additional 201,817 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LP acquired a new position in Targa Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,323,000. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in shares of Targa Resources by 215.2% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 31,052 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $3,478,000 after acquiring an additional 21,200 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Targa Resources during the 1st quarter worth $1,151,000. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in shares of Targa Resources by 6.5% in the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 444,530 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $49,783,000 after purchasing an additional 27,164 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Targa Resources from $155.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Targa Resources from $153.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Targa Resources from $147.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Argus upgraded Targa Resources to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target on Targa Resources from $128.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Targa Resources presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $157.21.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Joe Bob Perkins sold 150,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.53, for a total value of $23,329,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 110,470 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,181,399.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Paul W. Chung sold 5,264 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.03, for a total transaction of $726,589.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 232,827 shares in the company, valued at $32,137,110.81. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Joe Bob Perkins sold 150,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.53, for a total value of $23,329,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 110,470 shares in the company, valued at $17,181,399.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 157,764 shares of company stock valued at $24,421,590. Insiders own 1.39% of the company’s stock.

Targa Resources Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of TRGP stock opened at $192.34 on Friday. Targa Resources Corp. has a twelve month low of $81.03 and a twelve month high of $192.63. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $158.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $138.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 2.24.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The pipeline company reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $3.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.24 billion. Targa Resources had a return on equity of 27.59% and a net margin of 7.65%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.97 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Targa Resources Corp. will post 5.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Targa Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. Targa Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.25%.

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.