ARS Investment Partners LLC Raises Stock Position in Targa Resources, Inc. $TRGP

Key Points

• ARS Investment Partners increased its Targa Resources stake by 6.6% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 65,961 shares worth about $12.17 million.
• Targa Resources recently reported weaker-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.21 versus estimates of $2.48 and revenue of $4.09 billion versus expectations of $4.68 billion.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.25 per share from $1.00, while analysts remain broadly bullish with a consensus Moderate Buy rating and average target price of $266.36.

ARS Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP - Free Report) by 6.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 65,961 shares of the pipeline company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,064 shares during the period. ARS Investment Partners LLC's holdings in Targa Resources were worth $12,170,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in TRGP. First Horizon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Targa Resources by 20.1% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 340 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Targa Resources by 3.6% during the third quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. now owns 1,714 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $287,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Targa Resources by 4.1% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,508 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $253,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming grew its holdings in Targa Resources by 3.2% in the second quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 2,076 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $361,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Finally, Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. grew its holdings in Targa Resources by 1.3% in the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 5,046 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $845,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.13% of the company's stock.

Targa Resources Price Performance

TRGP opened at $272.04 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.64. Targa Resources, Inc. has a 52-week low of $144.14 and a 52-week high of $273.11. The company has a 50 day moving average of $244.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $208.36. The company has a market cap of $58.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.75.

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

Targa Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. This is an increase from Targa Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. Targa Resources's payout ratio is presently 50.56%.

Insider Activity at Targa Resources

In other Targa Resources news, insider D. Scott Pryor sold 17,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.92, for a total transaction of $4,006,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 31,938 shares in the company, valued at $7,311,246.96. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Robert Muraro sold 24,589 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.34, for a total transaction of $5,934,309.26. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 115,531 shares of company stock valued at $27,405,821 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.37% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TRGP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $268.00 target price on shares of Targa Resources in a report on Friday, May 8th. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $241.00 target price on shares of Targa Resources in a report on Friday, February 20th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Targa Resources from $207.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Targa Resources from $285.00 to $289.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Targa Resources from $242.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Fourteen research 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 target price of $266.36.

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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