HighTower Advisors LLC Reduces Stake in Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP)

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Targa Resources by 10.5%, selling 39,288 shares during the first quarter, leaving them with approximately $67.32 million in holdings.
• The company reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $2.87 for the latest quarter, significantly surpassing analysts' expectations of $1.95.
• Targa Resources has announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.00 per share, a notable rise from the previous dividend of $0.12, reflecting a 2.4% yield.

HighTower Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP - Free Report) by 10.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 335,827 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 39,288 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC owned about 0.15% of Targa Resources worth $67,323,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its stake in Targa Resources by 578.9% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 129 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC grew its position in shares of Targa Resources by 5,400.0% during the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 165 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Targa Resources during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Targa Resources during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Targa Resources during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. 92.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $205.00 price objective (up previously from $198.00) on shares of Targa Resources in a research report on Friday, August 8th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Targa Resources in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They set a "hold" rating and a $192.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $208.00 price objective (up previously from $205.00) on shares of Targa Resources in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Targa Resources from $218.00 to $194.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Cfra Research raised shares of Targa Resources to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $209.21.

Targa Resources Price Performance

Shares of Targa Resources stock traded down $2.01 during trading on Friday, reaching $163.50. 1,525,053 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,567,298. The company has a market capitalization of $35.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.12. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $168.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $176.78. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $140.90 and a 52-week high of $218.51.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.92. The firm had revenue of $4.26 billion during 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Targa Resources, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current year.

Targa Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. This is a positive change 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%. Targa Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.