Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Purchases 41,628 Shares of Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP)

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management increased its stake in Targa Resources by 12.3%, owning 380,454 shares valued at approximately $76 million as of the latest reporting period.
• Targa Resources recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.00, reflecting an annualized yield of 2.4%, significantly up from its previous dividend of $0.12.
• The company reported earnings per share of $2.87 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.95, while also achieving a return on equity of 40.21%.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP - Free Report) by 12.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 380,454 shares of the pipeline company's stock after acquiring an additional 41,628 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned about 0.18% of Targa Resources worth $76,270,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its position in Targa Resources by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 195,045 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $39,101,000 after acquiring an additional 3,622 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC grew its position in Targa Resources by 234.9% during the 1st quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,343 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $269,000 after acquiring an additional 942 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Targa Resources by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,521,036 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $304,922,000 after acquiring an additional 56,925 shares during the last quarter. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. bought a new stake in Targa Resources during the 1st quarter worth approximately $16,949,000. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its position in Targa Resources by 12.0% during the 1st quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 1,595 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $320,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. 92.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TRGP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. TD Securities initiated coverage on Targa Resources in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. 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 report on Thursday, July 10th. Barclays increased their price objective on Targa Resources from $178.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Targa Resources from $227.00 to $197.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, 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 report on Friday, August 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $209.00.

Targa Resources Stock Performance

Targa Resources stock traded down $2.68 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $165.36. 547,302 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,876,594. Targa Resources, Inc. has a 52 week low of $136.60 and a 52 week high of $218.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.93, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market cap of $35.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.12. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $168.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $177.54.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The pipeline company reported $2.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.92. Targa Resources had a return on equity of 43.35% and a net margin of 8.99%. The business had revenue of $4.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.82 billion. On average, analysts expect 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 will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This is a boost from Targa Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. Targa Resources's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.