Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP) Shares Purchased by Alps Advisors Inc.

Alps Advisors Inc. raised its position in Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP - Free Report) by 17.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 120,507 shares of the pipeline company's stock after purchasing an additional 17,781 shares during the quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. owned about 0.06% of Targa Resources worth $24,158,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Targa Resources during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Colonial Trust Co SC lifted its holdings in Targa Resources by 5,400.0% during the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 165 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in Targa Resources during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Targa Resources during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. 92.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on TRGP. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Targa Resources from $259.00 to $228.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 15th. TD Securities began coverage on shares of Targa Resources in a report on Monday. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Targa Resources from $227.00 to $197.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Targa Resources from $189.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, US Capital Advisors raised shares of Targa Resources from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $209.57.

Targa Resources Stock Performance

Targa Resources stock traded up $1.15 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $171.89. 801,427 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,842,486. Targa Resources, Inc. has a 12-month low of $122.56 and a 12-month high of $218.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.04, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market cap of $37.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.07. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $166.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $182.02.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The pipeline company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.04 by ($1.13). Targa Resources had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 7.35%. The firm had revenue of $4.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.01 billion. Equities research analysts predict 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 will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. This is a boost from Targa Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. Targa Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.66%.

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.