Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Sells 4,700 Shares of Targa Resources, Inc. $TRGP

Key Points

• Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. sold 4,700 shares of Targa Resources, Inc., reducing its stake by 2.3% and now holding approximately 199,000 shares worth about $39.89 million.
• Targa Resources recently increased its quarterly dividend to $1.00 per share, which marks a significant rise from the previous dividend of $0.12, reflecting a strong payout ratio of 56.58%.
• The company reported an EPS of $2.87 for the most recent quarter, surpassing analyst expectations, although its revenue of $4.26 billion was below estimates of $4.82 billion.

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lessened its position in Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP - Free Report) by 2.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 199,000 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 4,700 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned about 0.09% of Targa Resources worth $39,894,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Targa Resources in the first quarter worth approximately $286,000. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec lifted its stake in shares of Targa Resources by 74.1% in the first quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 22,344 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $4,480,000 after buying an additional 9,510 shares in the last quarter. PDT Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Targa Resources by 82.1% in the first quarter. PDT Partners LLC now owns 50,450 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $10,114,000 after buying an additional 22,750 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Targa Resources during the first quarter valued at $341,000. Finally, Graham Capital Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Targa Resources during the first quarter valued at $680,000. Institutional investors own 92.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Cfra Research raised Targa Resources to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Targa Resources in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. TD Securities began coverage on shares of Targa Resources in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Barclays upped 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. upped their target price on shares of Targa Resources from $189.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $208.86.

Targa Resources Price Performance

NYSE TRGP opened at $163.52 on Thursday. Targa Resources, Inc. has a 52 week low of $142.11 and a 52 week high of $218.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.13, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.93. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $167.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $173.52.

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

Targa Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. This is an increase from Targa Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. Targa Resources's payout ratio is currently 56.58%.

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.

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