Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Trims Stake in Targa Resources, Inc. $TRGP

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management cut its stake in Targa Resources by 61.2% in Q4, selling 112,159 shares and leaving 71,194 shares valued at about $13.14 million.
• Corporate insiders sold a total of 104,929 shares (~$24.7M) over the past 90 days (notably Patrick J. Mcdonie and D. Scott Pryor), while institutional ownership remains high at 92.13% and insider ownership is about 1.34%.
• Targa reported an EPS beat of $2.51 vs. $2.35 consensus (revenue slightly below expectations), has a market cap near $53.9B, pays a $1.00 quarterly dividend (annualized $4.00, ~1.6% yield), and carries a consensus analyst rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target around $252.57.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. cut its holdings in shares of Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP - Free Report) by 61.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 71,194 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 112,159 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Targa Resources were worth $13,135,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Targa Resources by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,382,289 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $4,755,169,000 after purchasing an additional 422,075 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Targa Resources by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 19,643,139 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $3,291,012,000 after purchasing an additional 1,620,253 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Targa Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at about $708,366,000. UBS Group AG grew its position in shares of Targa Resources by 9.9% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,360,311 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $395,447,000 after buying an additional 212,887 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Targa Resources by 4.1% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,175,544 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $364,491,000 after buying an additional 84,757 shares in the last quarter. 92.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Targa Resources Stock Performance

NYSE:TRGP opened at $250.57 on Friday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $223.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $188.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.21. The stock has a market cap of $53.86 billion, a PE ratio of 29.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.84. Targa Resources, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.14 and a fifty-two week high of $253.40.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The pipeline company reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.16. Targa Resources had a net margin of 10.88% and a return on equity of 65.48%. The firm had revenue of $4.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.12 billion. Analysts expect that Targa Resources, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Targa Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th were paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. Targa Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.57%.

Insider Transactions at Targa Resources

In related news, insider Patrick J. Mcdonie sold 31,537 shares of Targa Resources stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $239.36, for a total transaction 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 approximately $73,043,815.68. The trade was a 9.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider D. Scott Pryor sold 17,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.92, for a total value of $4,006,100.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 31,938 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,311,246.96. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 104,929 shares of company stock worth $24,692,134 over the last ninety days. 1.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TRGP has been the topic of several analyst reports. Mizuho raised 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. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Targa Resources from $192.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $242.00 price objective on shares of Targa Resources in a research report on Friday, February 20th. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $241.00 price objective on shares of Targa Resources in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Targa Resources from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Targa Resources currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $252.57.

Targa Resources Company Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.