Blackstone Inc. Trims Stock Position in Targa Resources Corp. (NYSE:TRGP)

Blackstone Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Targa Resources Corp. (NYSE:TRGP - Free Report) by 22.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,684,731 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 1,319,105 shares during the quarter. Targa Resources makes up approximately 3.8% of Blackstone Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Blackstone Inc. owned approximately 2.15% of Targa Resources worth $836,224,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Targa Resources by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,160,608 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $4,848,169,000 after purchasing an additional 150,038 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Targa Resources by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,930,473 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,056,187,000 after acquiring an additional 212,986 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Targa Resources in the fourth quarter valued at $505,132,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Targa Resources by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,756,419 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $492,022,000 after acquiring an additional 53,853 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GQG Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Targa Resources during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $393,335,000. 92.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TRGP has been the topic of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Targa Resources from $218.00 to $194.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Targa Resources from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Barclays lowered their target price on Targa Resources from $211.00 to $206.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Mizuho decreased their price target on Targa Resources from $226.00 to $218.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Targa Resources from $220.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $207.21.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider D. Scott Pryor sold 35,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.30, for a total transaction of $6,905,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 82,139 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,206,024.70. This represents a 29.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer R. Kneale sold 29,887 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.42, for a total value of $5,750,856.54. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 227,269 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $43,731,100.98. This trade represents a 11.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 115,914 shares of company stock worth $22,613,288. 1.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Targa Resources Stock Performance

NYSE TRGP traded up $1.54 on Wednesday, reaching $158.86. 2,235,921 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,763,783. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.57 billion, a PE ratio of 27.68, 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. Targa Resources Corp. has a one year low of $112.05 and a one year high of $218.51. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $180.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $188.03.

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

Targa Resources Dividend Announcement

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

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.