Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. Sells 17,619 Shares of Targa Resources, Inc. $TRGP

Key Points

• Duff & Phelps trimmed its stake in Targa Resources by 3.6% in Q3, selling 17,619 shares and now holds 478,031 shares (about 0.22%) worth ~$80.09 million.
• Institutional ownership is concentrated at 92.13%—Vanguard boosted its position to 28.38 million shares (~$4.76B), Norges Bank opened a roughly $708M position, and UBS, Geode and Canada Pension Plan also increased stakes.
• Insider selling and fundamentals: insiders sold 104,929 shares (~$24.7M) over the past three months; the company recently beat EPS estimates ($2.51 vs. $2.35), pays a $1.00 quarterly dividend (annual $4.00, 1.7% yield), and carries an average analyst rating of "Moderate Buy" with a $240.79 target.

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. lowered its stake in Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP - Free Report) by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 478,031 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 17,619 shares during the period. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. owned approximately 0.22% of Targa Resources worth $80,089,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Targa Resources by 1.5% in 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 during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Targa Resources by 1.7% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,856,899 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,022,222,000 after purchasing an additional 95,611 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Targa Resources in the second quarter worth approximately $708,366,000. UBS Group AG increased its stake in shares of Targa Resources by 9.9% in 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 during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in shares of Targa Resources by 12.0% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,886,844 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $328,462,000 after buying an additional 201,927 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.13% of the company's stock.

Targa Resources Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of NYSE TRGP opened at $236.49 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $208.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $182.10. Targa Resources, Inc. has a 12 month low of $144.14 and a 12 month high of $250.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.83 billion, a PE ratio of 27.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.84.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The pipeline company reported $2.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.12 billion. Equities analysts expect that Targa Resources, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Targa Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. Targa Resources's payout ratio is presently 46.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on TRGP shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $242.00 price target on shares of Targa Resources in a research report on Friday, February 20th. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Targa Resources in a research report on Friday, January 9th. TD Cowen increased their target price 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. Weiss Ratings raised Targa Resources from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Targa Resources from $266.00 to $298.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $240.79.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Robert Muraro sold 24,589 shares of the firm'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 value of $5,934,309.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 197,401 shares in the company, valued at $47,640,757.34. This trade represents a 11.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Patrick J. Mcdonie sold 31,537 shares of Targa Resources stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.36, for a total value of $7,548,696.32. Following the sale, the insider owned 305,163 shares in the company, valued at $73,043,815.68. This represents a 9.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 104,929 shares of company stock worth $24,692,134. Company insiders own 1.34% of the company's stock.

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.

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