Barclays PLC Sells 98,491 Shares of Targa Resources, Inc. $TRGP

Key Points

• Barclays PLC cut its stake in Targa Resources by 13.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 98,491 shares and leaving it with 647,921 shares worth about $119.5 million.
• Insider selling also occurred, with Director Charles R. Crisp selling 10,602 shares on May 12 for about $2.7 million, reducing his holdings by 13.75%.
• Analyst sentiment remains constructive overall: the stock has a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating with an average target price of $269.21, even as the company recently missed quarterly earnings and revenue estimates.

Barclays PLC reduced its position in Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP - Free Report) by 13.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 647,921 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 98,491 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned 0.30% of Targa Resources worth $119,541,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Targa Resources by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 526 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $97,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Targa Resources by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 7,455 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,376,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Targa Resources by 20.1% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 340 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Targa Resources by 4.1% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,508 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $253,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Equitable Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Targa Resources by 3.6% in the third quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. now owns 1,714 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $287,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. 92.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Targa Resources

In related news, Director Charles R. Crisp sold 10,602 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.96, for a total value of $2,713,687.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 66,492 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,019,292.32. This represents a 13.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Targa Resources from $228.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Seaport Research Partners reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Targa Resources in a report on Monday, May 4th. US Capital Advisors downgraded shares of Targa Resources from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Targa Resources from $327.00 to $331.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating and set a $241.00 price target on shares of Targa Resources in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Targa Resources has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $269.21.

Targa Resources Trading Down 3.8%

Targa Resources stock opened at $262.31 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.64. Targa Resources, Inc. has a 12 month low of $144.14 and a 12 month high of $280.00. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $255.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $223.89. The firm has a market cap of $56.30 billion, a PE ratio of 26.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.72.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The pipeline company reported $2.21 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.48 by ($0.27). The business had revenue of $4.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.68 billion. Targa Resources had a return on equity of 71.00% and a net margin of 12.87%. Analysts anticipate that Targa Resources, Inc. will post 10.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Targa Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 50.56%.

Targa Resources 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.

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