Cohen & Steers Inc. Purchases 160,372 Shares of Targa Resources, Inc. $TRGP

Key Points

• Cohen & Steers Inc. increased its stake in Targa Resources by 21% in the fourth quarter, buying 160,372 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 925,235 shares valued at about $170.7 million.
• Targa Resources reported weaker-than-expected first-quarter results, with earnings of $2.21 per share and revenue of $4.09 billion, both below analyst estimates.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.25 per share from $1.00, while Wall Street remains broadly positive with a consensus Moderate Buy rating and a $269.21 price target.

Cohen & Steers Inc. lifted its position in Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP - Free Report) by 21.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 925,235 shares of the pipeline company's stock after acquiring an additional 160,372 shares during the quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. owned 0.43% of Targa Resources worth $170,706,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealthspire Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Targa Resources by 523.0% in the 4th quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 1,327 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $245,000 after acquiring an additional 1,114 shares during the last quarter. Castleark Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Targa Resources by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. Castleark Management LLC now owns 19,400 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $3,579,000 after acquiring an additional 2,720 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Targa Resources by 36.5% in the 4th quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 15,091 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $2,784,000 after acquiring an additional 4,034 shares during the last quarter. CI Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Targa Resources by 41.0% in the 4th quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 743,535 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $137,182,000 after acquiring an additional 216,373 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec lifted its holdings in Targa Resources by 20.8% during the 4th quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 47,569 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $8,776,000 after buying an additional 8,176 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.13% of the company's stock.

Targa Resources Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:TRGP opened at $272.31 on Friday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $255.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $222.87. The stock has a market cap of $58.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.72. Targa Resources, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.14 and a fifty-two 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.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP - Get Free Report) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $4.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.68 billion. Targa Resources had a net margin of 12.87% and a return on equity of 71.00%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Targa Resources, Inc. will post 10.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Targa Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were paid a $1.25 dividend. 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 currently 50.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TRGP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Targa Resources from $242.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Seaport Research Partners reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Targa Resources in a report on Monday, May 4th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Targa Resources from $228.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Targa Resources from $327.00 to $331.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $268.00 target price on shares of Targa Resources in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Targa Resources currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $269.21.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Charles R. Crisp sold 10,602 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.96, for a total transaction of $2,713,687.92. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 66,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,019,292.32. This trade represents a 13.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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