Vanguard Group Inc. Increases Position in Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP)

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Targa Resources by 1.6%, now holding approximately 12.68% of the company, valued at about $5.53 billion.
• Targa Resources recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.00 per share, reflecting a significant boost from the previous dividend of $0.12, with a current yield of 2.5%.
• Analysts have a positive outlook on Targa Resources, with target price upgrades from Barclays and JPMorgan Chase, indicating a consensus rating of "Buy" with an average target price of $209.86.

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP - Free Report) by 1.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 27,584,275 shares of the pipeline company's stock after purchasing an additional 423,667 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 12.68% of Targa Resources worth $5,529,820,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Targa Resources by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,652 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $473,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Targa Resources by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 4,942 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $991,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Targa Resources by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,776 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $356,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Curated Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Targa Resources by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Curated Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,344 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $670,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baker Avenue Asset Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Targa Resources by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 9,234 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,648,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. 92.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Targa Resources Trading Down 1.1%

TRGP traded down $1.82 on Friday, hitting $165.07. 2,023,021 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,403,008. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.04, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.65. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $168.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $178.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.81 billion, a PE ratio of 23.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.12. Targa Resources, Inc. has a 12 month low of $135.16 and a 12 month high of $218.51.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $4.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.82 billion. Targa Resources had a net margin of 8.99% and a return on equity of 40.21%. Sell-side analysts expect that Targa Resources, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Targa Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is 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 yield of 2.4%. Targa Resources's payout ratio is 73.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $205.00 target price (up from $198.00) on shares of Targa Resources in a research note on Friday. Mizuho set a $212.00 price objective on shares of Targa Resources and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Targa Resources from $259.00 to $228.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Targa Resources from $218.00 to $194.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, TD Securities started coverage on Targa Resources in a report on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $208.79.

Targa Resources Company 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.