11,133 Shares in Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP) Purchased by Zions Bancorporation National Association UT

Key Points

• Zions Bancorporation National Association UT made a new investment in Targa Resources, purchasing 11,133 shares for approximately $2.23 million.
• Targa Resources reported an impressive EPS of $2.87 for the last quarter, significantly exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.95.
• The company announced a substantial increase in its quarterly dividend, raising it from $0.12 to $1.00 per share, which provides a dividend yield of 2.4%.

Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new position in Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 11,133 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $2,232,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in shares of Targa Resources by 31.9% during the 1st quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 255,407 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $51,199,000 after purchasing an additional 61,759 shares during the period. Fayez Sarofim & Co boosted its position in shares of Targa Resources by 94.3% during the 1st quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 17,719 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $3,552,000 after acquiring an additional 8,600 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Targa Resources by 12.3% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 380,454 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $76,270,000 after acquiring an additional 41,628 shares in the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its position in shares of Targa Resources by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 195,045 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $39,101,000 after acquiring an additional 3,622 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its position in shares of Targa Resources by 234.9% during the 1st quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,343 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $269,000 after acquiring an additional 942 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on TRGP. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Targa Resources from $259.00 to $228.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Targa Resources from $178.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Targa Resources from $189.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $205.00 price target (up from $198.00) on shares of Targa Resources in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Targa Resources in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $192.00 price target on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $209.00.

Targa Resources Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE TRGP traded down $2.46 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $165.58. 614,551 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,877,033. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $168.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $177.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.12. Targa Resources, Inc. has a twelve month low of $136.60 and a twelve month high of $218.51.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The pipeline company reported $2.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.92. Targa Resources had a net margin of 8.99% and a return on equity of 43.35%. The business had revenue of $4.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.82 billion. As a group, research analysts predict 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 given a dividend of $1.00 per share. 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%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. Targa Resources's payout ratio is 56.58%.

About Targa Resources

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.