Wealth Enhancement Trust Services Inc. Invests $1.23 Million in Targa Resources, Inc. $TRGP

Key Points

• Wealth Enhancement Trust Services bought a new 6,672‑share stake in Targa Resources (TRGP) worth about $1.23 million in Q4, and institutional investors now own roughly 92.13% of the stock.
• Targa beat EPS estimates ($2.51 vs. $2.35) but slightly missed revenue expectations ($4.06B vs. $4.12B), and raised its quarterly dividend to $1.25 (annualized $5.00, ~2.1% yield).
• Analyst sentiment is largely positive — 14 Buys vs. 3 Holds with a consensus "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $258.07, while several firms (including UBS and Wells Fargo) have recently raised targets as high as $280.

Wealth Enhancement Trust Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 6,672 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $1,231,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TRGP. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Targa Resources by 1.5% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,382,289 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $4,755,169,000 after purchasing an additional 422,075 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Targa Resources by 9.0% in 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 holdings in shares of Targa Resources by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,360,311 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $395,447,000 after buying an additional 212,887 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Targa Resources by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,175,544 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $364,491,000 after buying an additional 84,757 shares during the period. Finally, Chickasaw Capital Management LLC grew its position 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 valued at $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.

Targa Resources Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of Targa Resources stock opened at $235.63 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $237.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $196.60. The firm has a market cap of $50.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.81. Targa Resources, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.14 and a fifty-two week high of $253.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.21.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The pipeline company reported $2.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $4.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.12 billion. Targa Resources had a net margin of 10.88% and a return on equity of 65.48%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Targa Resources, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Targa Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. This is a boost from Targa Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Targa Resources's dividend payout ratio is 58.21%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider D. Scott Pryor sold 17,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $7,311,246.96. This represents a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, President Jennifer R. Kneale sold 29,509 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.12, for a total value of $6,790,611.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the president owned 235,260 shares of the company's stock, valued at $54,138,031.20. This trade represents a 11.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 104,929 shares of company stock worth $24,692,134. Corporate insiders own 1.37% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TRGP has been the topic of several research reports. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Targa Resources from $192.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $241.00 target price on shares of Targa Resources in a report on Friday, February 20th. UBS Group upped their target price on Targa Resources from $228.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $242.00 price target on shares of Targa Resources in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Targa Resources from $248.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $258.07.

Targa Resources Company 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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