Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Has $3.53 Million Holdings in Targa Resources, Inc. $TRGP

Key Points

• Thrivent Financial for Lutherans more than doubled its stake in Targa Resources in the fourth quarter, buying an additional 9,807 shares and bringing its holding to 19,154 shares valued at about $3.53 million.
• Other major institutional investors also increased their positions, and overall 92.13% of Targa Resources stock is owned by institutions and hedge funds.
• Targa Resources reported mixed quarterly results, missing EPS and revenue estimates, but it also raised its quarterly dividend to $1.25 per share from $1.00, while analysts still rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $266.36.

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP - Free Report) by 104.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,154 shares of the pipeline company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,807 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans' holdings in Targa Resources were worth $3,534,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Targa Resources by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,382,289 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $4,755,169,000 after buying an additional 422,075 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,620,253 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG boosted its stake in shares of Targa Resources by 9.9% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,360,311 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $395,447,000 after buying an additional 212,887 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Targa Resources by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,175,544 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $364,491,000 after buying an additional 84,757 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chickasaw Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Targa Resources by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC now owns 1,834,117 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $338,395,000 after buying an additional 8,559 shares during the last quarter. 92.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on TRGP shares. Seaport Research Partners restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Targa Resources in a research note on Monday, May 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Targa Resources from $242.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Targa Resources from $236.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Targa Resources from $200.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Targa Resources from $264.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $266.36.

Targa Resources Stock Up 2.4%

Shares of TRGP stock opened at $276.62 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.64, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.72. The firm's 50-day moving average is $248.57 and its 200-day moving average is $212.59. The stock has a market cap of $59.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.97, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.75. Targa Resources, Inc. has a 52-week low of $144.14 and a 52-week high of $280.00.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The pipeline company reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.48 by ($0.27). The firm had revenue of $4.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.68 billion. Targa Resources had a net margin of 12.87% and a return on equity of 71.00%. Sell-side analysts predict that Targa Resources, Inc. will post 10.66 EPS for the current year.

Targa Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were issued a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 30th. This is a positive change from Targa Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Targa Resources's payout ratio is currently 50.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Robert Muraro sold 24,589 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.34, for a total value of $5,934,309.26. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 197,401 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $47,640,757.34. This represents a 11.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider D. Scott Pryor sold 17,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.92, for a total transaction of $4,006,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 31,938 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,311,246.96. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 115,531 shares of company stock worth $27,405,821 in the last 90 days. 1.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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