Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP) Declares Dividend Increase - $1.25 Per Share

Key Points

• Targa Resources raised its quarterly dividend to $1.25 per share — a 25.0% increase from $1.00 — with shareholders of record on April 30 to be paid on May 15 (ex-dividend date April 30).
• The raise implies an annualized yield of 2.1%; the company reports a payout ratio of 43.0% and analysts forecast about $9.72 in EPS next year, suggesting the dividend is covered by expected earnings.
• Company insiders have been net sellers, disposing of 104,929 shares valued at roughly $24.7 million in the past 90 days, leaving insiders owning 1.37% of the stock.

Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, April 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of 1.25 per share by the pipeline company on Friday, May 15th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 30th. This is a 25.0% increase from Targa Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $1.00.

Targa Resources has raised its dividend payment by an average of 0.3%per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 5 years. Targa Resources has a payout ratio of 43.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Targa Resources to earn $9.72 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $4.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 41.2%.

Targa Resources Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE TRGP opened at $240.01 on Friday. Targa Resources has a twelve month low of $144.14 and a twelve month high of $253.87. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $236.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $195.93. The firm has a market cap of $51.55 billion, a PE ratio of 27.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.81. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The pipeline company reported $2.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.35 by $0.16. Targa Resources had a return on equity of 65.48% and a net margin of 10.88%.The business had revenue of $4.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.12 billion. Analysts expect that Targa Resources will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Patrick J. Mcdonie sold 31,537 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $239.36, for a total value of $7,548,696.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 305,163 shares in the company, valued at approximately $73,043,815.68. This represents a 9.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, President Jennifer R. Kneale sold 29,509 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 11.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 104,929 shares of company stock valued at $24,692,134 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.37% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in Targa Resources by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 526 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $97,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Targa Resources by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 7,455 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,376,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Corp lifted its stake in Targa Resources by 20.1% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 340 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Targa Resources by 4.1% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,508 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $253,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Equitable Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in Targa Resources by 3.6% during the third quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. now owns 1,714 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $287,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. 92.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Targa Resources

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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