Sciencast Management LP Acquires Shares of 17,058 Targa Resources Corp. (NYSE:TRGP)

Sciencast Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Targa Resources Corp. (NYSE:TRGP) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 17,058 shares of the pipeline company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,910,000. Targa Resources makes up 1.2% of Sciencast Management LP’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in Targa Resources during the first quarter valued at $1,537,000. Empirical Finance LLC raised its position in shares of Targa Resources by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 4,067 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $455,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Targa Resources by 25,150.0% in the 1st quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 1,515 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $170,000 after purchasing an additional 1,509 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC purchased a new stake in Targa Resources during the 1st quarter valued at about $305,000. Finally, Team Hewins LLC bought a new stake in Targa Resources during the 1st quarter valued at about $205,000. 92.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on TRGP. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Targa Resources from $112.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Argus assumed coverage on Targa Resources in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Targa Resources from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Targa Resources from $123.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Targa Resources from $105.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Targa Resources has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.08.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Robert Muraro sold 9,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.31, for a total transaction of $1,290,069.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 186,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,361,584.81. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Robert Muraro sold 9,900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.31, for a total transaction of $1,290,069.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 186,951 shares in the company, valued at $24,361,584.81. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Julie H. Boushka sold 2,691 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total value of $304,083.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 57,228 shares in the company, valued at $6,466,764. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 52,691 shares of company stock valued at $6,197,632. 1.39% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Targa Resources Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:TRGP traded up $1.50 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $135.11. The company had a trading volume of 990,268 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,616,052. Targa Resources Corp. has a 12-month low of $77.06 and a 12-month high of $135.47. The company has a fifty day moving average of $121.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $107.11. The company has a market cap of $29.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.80, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 2.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The pipeline company reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.13). Targa Resources had a return on equity of 24.41% and a net margin of 6.86%. The company had revenue of $4.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.28 billion. On average, equities research analysts expect that Targa Resources Corp. will post 5.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.