UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Targa Resources, Inc. $TRGP

Key Points

• UBS Asset Management increased its stakes in Targa Resources by 20.9%, acquiring an additional 272,770 shares to reach a total of 1,577,637 shares valued at approximately $316 million.
• Targa Resources recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.12 to $1.00 per share, which translates to an annualized dividend of $4.00 and a yield of 2.5%.
• The company's latest earnings report showed $2.87 EPS, surpassing analysts' expectations of $1.95, while revenue for the quarter was $4.26 billion, below the forecast of $4.82 billion.

UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP - Free Report) by 20.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,577,637 shares of the pipeline company's stock after purchasing an additional 272,770 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC owned approximately 0.73% of Targa Resources worth $316,269,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Targa Resources by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,584,275 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $5,529,820,000 after acquiring an additional 423,667 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Targa Resources by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,790,955 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $2,764,673,000 after purchasing an additional 962,631 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Targa Resources by 3.2% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,565,960 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $915,338,000 after purchasing an additional 139,780 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC raised its position in Targa Resources by 64.0% in the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 3,614,307 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $724,560,000 after purchasing an additional 1,410,747 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Targa Resources by 2.8% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,834,418 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $568,217,000 after purchasing an additional 77,999 shares in the last quarter. 92.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Targa Resources Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of TRGP traded up $1.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $166.38. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,008,944 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,246,854. 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 12-month low of $144.30 and a 12-month high of $218.51. The company's 50 day moving average is $165.85 and its 200 day moving average is $171.41. The stock has a market cap of $35.80 billion, a PE ratio of 23.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.20.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The pipeline company reported $2.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $4.82 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that Targa Resources, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Targa Resources Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Cfra Research upgraded Targa Resources to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. TD Securities initiated coverage on Targa Resources in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Targa Resources in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They set a "hold" rating and a $192.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Targa Resources from $189.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Targa Resources in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $208.86.

Targa Resources Profile

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.