Lazard Asset Management LLC Boosts Position in Targa Resources Corp. (NYSE:TRGP)

Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Targa Resources Corp. (NYSE:TRGP - Free Report) by 159.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 69,974 shares of the pipeline company's stock after purchasing an additional 42,955 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in Targa Resources were worth $12,490,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in TRGP. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Targa Resources in the fourth quarter worth about $505,132,000. GQG Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Targa Resources in the fourth quarter worth about $393,335,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in shares of Targa Resources by 981.8% in the fourth quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,144,109 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $204,223,000 after purchasing an additional 1,038,350 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Targa Resources in the fourth quarter worth about $150,372,000. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Targa Resources by 568.7% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. now owns 970,373 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $173,212,000 after acquiring an additional 825,267 shares in the last quarter. 92.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Targa Resources

In related news, CEO Matthew J. Meloy sold 48,837 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.08, for a total value of $9,527,121.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 725,628 shares of the company's stock, valued at $141,555,510.24. This trade represents a 6.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer R. Kneale sold 29,887 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.42, for a total transaction of $5,750,856.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 227,269 shares of the company's stock, valued at $43,731,100.98. The trade was a 11.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 115,914 shares of company stock valued at $22,613,288 in the last three months. 1.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Targa Resources Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:TRGP traded down $0.99 during trading on Friday, reaching $165.46. The stock had a trading volume of 2,084,603 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,786,660. Targa Resources Corp. has a one year low of $113.65 and a one year high of $218.51. The company has a market capitalization of $35.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.83, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.05. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $177.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $188.03.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The pipeline company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.04 by ($1.13). The company had revenue of $4.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.01 billion. Targa Resources had a net margin of 7.81% and a return on equity of 28.67%. As a group, research analysts expect that Targa Resources Corp. will post 8.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Targa Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 1st were given a $1.00 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. Targa Resources's payout ratio is currently 73.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Targa Resources from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Targa Resources from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Targa Resources from $226.00 to $218.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Targa Resources from $199.00 to $191.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, US Capital Advisors upgraded shares of Targa Resources from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $201.64.

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.