Targa Resources, Inc. $TRGP Shares Bought by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management increased its Targa Resources stake by 151.3% in the third quarter, acquiring 116,984 additional shares and ending with 194,283 shares valued at approximately $52.5 million.
• Institutional investors own 92.13% of Targa Resources, while the stock recently traded up 4.3% at $294.75. Analysts maintain a consensus “Buy” rating with an average price target of $317.75.
• Targa reported quarterly EPS of $3.54, exceeding estimates of $2.83, and declared a $1.25 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a $5.00 annualized payout and a 1.7% yield.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP - Free Report) by 151.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 194,283 shares of the pipeline company's stock after acquiring an additional 116,984 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.09% of Targa Resources worth $52,517,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in Targa Resources by 238.0% during the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 41,741 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $11,192,000 after buying an additional 29,390 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in Targa Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at $100,442,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in Targa Resources by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 820,310 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $151,331,000 after buying an additional 53,413 shares in the last quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY grew its holdings in Targa Resources by 37.3% in the 1st quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 230,592 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $57,816,000 after buying an additional 62,652 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nykredit A S acquired a new stake in shares of Targa Resources in the 2nd quarter worth $33,314,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.13% of the company's stock.

Targa Resources Trading Up 4.3%

Shares of Targa Resources stock opened at $294.75 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.18, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.80. Targa Resources, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.14 and a fifty-two week high of $307.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.01, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.77. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $286.24 and a 200 day moving average of $269.99.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The pipeline company reported $3.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.83 by $0.71. Targa Resources had a return on equity of 69.26% and a net margin of 13.55%. The company had revenue of $4.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.90 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that Targa Resources, Inc. will post 11.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Targa Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 30th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Targa Resources's dividend payout ratio is currently 47.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on TRGP shares. Wolfe Research set a $335.00 price target on Targa Resources in a report on Friday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $326.00 price target on shares of Targa Resources in a research report on Thursday. TD Cowen raised shares of Targa Resources from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $275.00 to $350.00 in a report on Friday, September 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Targa Resources from $315.00 to $351.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Targa Resources from $284.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and twenty-one have given a Buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $317.75.

Insider Transactions at Targa Resources

In related news, Director S Davis sold 2,400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.67, for a total transaction of $719,208.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,529 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $458,195.43. This trade represents a 61.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles Crisp sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.23, for a total value of $870,690.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 62,292 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,079,007.16. The trade was a 4.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,216 shares of company stock worth $2,127,634. 1.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Targa Resources Profile

Targa Resources Corp. NYSE: TRGP is a Houston-based midstream energy company that owns, operates and develops infrastructure for gathering, processing, transporting, storing and exporting natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), crude oil and refined petroleum products. Its operations connect producers with domestic and international markets across key U.S. energy-producing regions.

The company's assets include natural gas gathering and processing systems, NGL pipelines, fractionation facilities, storage assets and export terminals.

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