Prudential PLC Reduces Stock Position in Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP)

Key Points

• Prudential PLC reduced its stake in Targa Resources, Inc. by 41.7%, selling 2,964 shares, which left it with 4,142 shares valued at approximately $830,000.
• Other institutional investors such as Bessemer Group Inc. and Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased their positions in Targa Resources, with Bessemer lifting its stake by 25.1%.
• Targa Resources reported earnings of $2.87 EPS for the latest quarter, exceeding estimates, and announced a dividend increase to $1.00 per share, reflecting a strong financial position.

Prudential PLC cut its stake in Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP - Free Report) by 41.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,142 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 2,964 shares during the period. Prudential PLC's holdings in Targa Resources were worth $830,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in Targa Resources by 25.1% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,466 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $494,000 after purchasing an additional 495 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in Targa Resources by 48.1% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 2,535 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $508,000 after purchasing an additional 823 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Targa Resources during the first quarter worth $544,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Targa Resources by 29.9% in the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 3,758 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $753,000 after acquiring an additional 864 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its stake in shares of Targa Resources by 5.8% in the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 2,038 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $408,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. 92.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Targa Resources from $218.00 to $194.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Targa Resources from $189.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. TD Securities assumed coverage on Targa Resources in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $205.00 price objective (up from $198.00) on shares of Targa Resources in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Targa Resources in a research note on Thursday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Targa Resources currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $209.21.

Targa Resources Stock Performance

NYSE:TRGP opened at $163.50 on Friday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $168.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $176.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.18 billion, a PE ratio of 23.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.12. Targa Resources, Inc. has a 12 month low of $140.90 and a 12 month high of $218.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.93, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.56.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The pipeline company reported $2.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.92. The company had revenue of $4.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.82 billion. Targa Resources had a return on equity of 43.35% and a net margin of 8.99%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Targa Resources, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Targa Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. This is a positive change from Targa Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Targa Resources's dividend payout ratio is 56.58%.

About Targa Resources

Targa Resources Corp., together with its subsidiary, Targa Resources Partners LP, owns, operates, acquires, and develops a portfolio of complementary domestic midstream infrastructure assets in North America. It operates in two segments, Gathering and Processing, and Logistics and Transportation. The company is involved in gathering, compressing, treating, processing, transporting, and selling natural gas; storing, fractionating, treating, transporting, and selling natural gas liquids (NGL) and NGL products, including services to liquefied petroleum gas exporters; and gathering, storing, terminaling, purchasing, and selling crude oil.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding TRGP? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.