Range Financial Group LLC Invests $2.69 Million in Targa Resources, Inc. $TRGP

Key Points

• Range Financial Group LLC opened a new position in Targa Resources during the first quarter, buying 10,747 shares valued at about $2.69 million.
• Institutional ownership in Targa Resources remains very high at 92.13%, and several large funds, including Norges Bank and Wellington Management, also increased or initiated positions.
• The company reported mixed quarterly results, missing both EPS and revenue estimates, while also boosting its quarterly dividend to $1.25 per share from $1.00.

Range Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 10,747 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $2,695,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Targa Resources in the fourth quarter valued at about $735,758,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Targa Resources by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 19,643,139 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $3,291,012,000 after purchasing an additional 1,620,253 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Targa Resources by 48.5% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,290,099 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $607,023,000 after buying an additional 1,075,246 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Targa Resources during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $121,426,000. Finally, Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. lifted its holdings in shares of Targa Resources by 20.3% in the 4th quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. now owns 3,389,006 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $625,272,000 after buying an additional 572,562 shares during the period. 92.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Targa Resources news, Director Charles R. Crisp sold 10,602 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.96, for a total value of $2,713,687.92. Following the sale, the director owned 66,492 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,019,292.32. This represents a 13.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Targa Resources Stock Down 1.8%

Targa Resources stock opened at $272.92 on Friday. Targa Resources, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.14 and a fifty-two week high of $280.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.71. The stock's fifty day moving average is $264.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $234.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.64, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.72.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The pipeline company reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.68 billion. Analysts predict that Targa Resources, Inc. will post 10.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Targa Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were given a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. This is an increase from Targa Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Targa Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on TRGP. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Targa Resources from $242.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Targa Resources from $291.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $318.00 target price on shares of Targa Resources in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Targa Resources in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Erste Group Bank assumed coverage on shares of Targa Resources in a report on Thursday, June 25th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $281.93.

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.

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 reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.