Aberdeen Group plc Has $29.57 Million Stake in Targa Resources, Inc. $TRGP

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc significantly reduced its holdings in Targa Resources, Inc. by 73.1%, selling 406,163 shares and retaining only 149,253 shares valued at approximately $29.57 million.
• Several other institutional investors increased their stakes in Targa Resources during the first quarter, with GQG Partners LLC growing its position by 64% and GAMMA Investing LLC by an astonishing 22,699%.
• Targa Resources recently reported a strong earnings performance with $2.87 earnings per share, exceeding expectations, and announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $1.00, reflecting a positive change from its previous dividend of $0.12.

Aberdeen Group plc lowered its stake in shares of Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP - Free Report) by 73.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 149,253 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 406,163 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc owned 0.07% of Targa Resources worth $29,574,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its position in shares of Targa Resources by 578.9% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 129 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC lifted its holdings in shares of Targa Resources by 5,400.0% during the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 165 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Targa Resources in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new position in Targa Resources during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Targa Resources during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. 92.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Targa Resources Trading Up 1.3%

NYSE TRGP traded up $2.1120 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $164.2120. The company's stock had a trading volume of 221,489 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,859,675. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $168.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $175.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.93, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.12. Targa Resources, Inc. has a 52-week low of $142.11 and a 52-week high of $218.51.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The pipeline company reported $2.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.92. The business had revenue of $4.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.82 billion. Targa Resources had a return on equity of 43.35% and a net margin of 8.99%. Research analysts expect that Targa Resources, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current year.

Targa Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. This is a boost from Targa Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. Targa Resources's dividend payout ratio is presently 56.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on TRGP shares. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Targa Resources from $218.00 to $194.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 5th. Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Targa Resources in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Targa Resources from $205.00 to $208.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Targa Resources from $178.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Targa Resources from $189.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Targa Resources currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $209.21.

Targa Resources Company 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.