Allstate Corp Buys 8,135 Shares of Targa Resources, Inc. $TRGP

Key Points

• Allstate Corp nearly doubled its position in Targa Resources during the fourth quarter, buying 8,135 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 16,282 shares valued at about $3.0 million.
• Wall Street remains broadly positive on TRGP, with 14 Buy ratings and 3 Hold ratings; the consensus analyst target is $269.21, implying modest upside from current levels.
• Insiders have been selling shares recently, even as the company raised its quarterly dividend from $1.00 to $1.25, lifting the annualized payout to $5.00 per share.

Allstate Corp lifted its stake in Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP - Free Report) by 99.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,282 shares of the pipeline company's stock after buying an additional 8,135 shares during the quarter. Allstate Corp's holdings in Targa Resources were worth $3,004,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Targa Resources by 52.5% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,850 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $341,000 after purchasing an additional 637 shares in the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Targa Resources by 139.4% in the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 754 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $139,000 after purchasing an additional 439 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Targa Resources by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 526 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $97,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd purchased a new position in Targa Resources during the 4th quarter valued at $258,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Targa Resources by 19.3% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,854 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $711,000 after acquiring an additional 623 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.13% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Seaport Research Partners restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Targa Resources in a report on Monday, May 4th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Targa Resources from $327.00 to $331.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $268.00 target price on Targa Resources in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Barclays lifted their target price on Targa Resources from $255.00 to $262.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Targa Resources in a research report on Wednesday. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $269.21.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Robert Muraro sold 24,589 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.34, for a total value of $5,934,309.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 197,401 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $47,640,757.34. This represents a 11.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Patrick J. Mcdonie sold 31,537 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $239.36, for a total value of $7,548,696.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 305,163 shares of the company's stock, valued at $73,043,815.68. The trade was a 9.37% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 66,728 shares of company stock valued at $16,196,694. 1.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Targa Resources Stock Down 2.4%

Shares of TRGP opened at $263.33 on Thursday. Targa Resources, Inc. has a 52 week low of $144.14 and a 52 week high of $280.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.64. The company has a market capitalization of $56.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.63, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.75. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $250.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $215.27.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The pipeline company reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.48 by ($0.27). The company had revenue of $4.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.68 billion. Targa Resources had a return on equity of 71.00% and a net margin of 12.87%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Targa Resources, Inc. will post 10.66 EPS for the current year.

Targa Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 30th were issued a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 30th. This is a positive change from Targa Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Targa Resources's payout ratio is currently 50.56%.

About Targa Resources

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.

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