Norges Bank Takes $735.76 Million Position in Targa Resources, Inc. $TRGP

Key Points

• Norges Bank opened a new position in Targa Resources, buying 3,987,850 shares worth about $735.76 million and ending with roughly 1.86% ownership of the company.
• Several other institutional investors also increased or initiated stakes, and 92.13% of Targa Resources is now held by institutional investors.
• Targa Resources reported weaker-than-expected quarterly results and its shares were down 2.7%, even as the company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.25 per share from $1.00.

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 3,987,850 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $735,758,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.86% of Targa Resources at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Korea Investment CORP lifted its stake in Targa Resources by 37.4% during the third quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 260,760 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $43,688,000 after purchasing an additional 70,998 shares during the last quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Targa Resources by 5.5% during the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 143,904 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $24,110,000 after purchasing an additional 7,497 shares during the last quarter. NFC Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Targa Resources during the third quarter valued at approximately $8,478,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Targa Resources by 5.0% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 484,462 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $81,167,000 after purchasing an additional 22,969 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in Targa Resources by 57.0% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 34,805 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $6,421,000 after purchasing an additional 12,640 shares during the last quarter. 92.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Targa Resources news, insider Patrick J. Mcdonie sold 31,537 shares of the 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 completion of 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles R. Crisp sold 10,602 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.96, for a total transaction of $2,713,687.92. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 66,492 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,019,292.32. The trade was a 13.75% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 66,728 shares of company stock valued at $16,196,694. Company insiders own 1.37% of the company's stock.

Targa Resources Trading Down 2.7%

Targa Resources stock opened at $255.14 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $251.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $216.18. Targa Resources, Inc. has a 52 week low of $144.14 and a 52 week high of $280.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.64, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.75.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The pipeline company reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.48 by ($0.27). Targa Resources had a return on equity of 71.00% and a net margin of 12.87%.The firm had revenue of $4.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.68 billion. Research analysts forecast that Targa Resources, Inc. will post 10.67 EPS for the current year.

Targa Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 30th were paid a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. This is a positive change from Targa Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Targa Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Seaport Research Partners reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Targa Resources in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $268.00 target price on shares of Targa Resources in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Targa Resources from $255.00 to $262.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Targa Resources in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Targa Resources from $285.00 to $289.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $269.21.

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.