Targa Resources Corp. (NYSE:TRGP) Shares Bought by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Targa Resources Corp. (NYSE:TRGP) by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 524,336 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after acquiring an additional 48,600 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.24% of Targa Resources worth $77,607,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. DT Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Targa Resources during the third quarter worth $29,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in shares of Targa Resources during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of Targa Resources by 2,220.0% during the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 232 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Targa Resources during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. bought a new stake in shares of Targa Resources in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $44,000. 92.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on TRGP shares. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Targa Resources from $155.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. US Capital Advisors cut shares of Targa Resources from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Targa Resources from $173.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Targa Resources from $153.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Targa Resources from $172.00 to $199.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $176.14.

Targa Resources Stock Down 0.7 %

TRGP stock opened at $183.39 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $39.99 billion, a PE ratio of 33.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 2.28. Targa Resources Corp. has a 12 month low of $81.03 and a 12 month high of $209.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.05, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $182.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $153.25.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The pipeline company reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $3.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.24 billion. Targa Resources had a return on equity of 27.59% and a net margin of 7.65%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.97 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Targa Resources Corp. will post 6.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Targa Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.64%. Targa Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider D. Scott Pryor sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.33, for a total value of $5,709,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 82,979 shares in the company, valued at $15,793,393.07. This represents a 26.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Joe Bob Perkins sold 150,000 shares of Targa Resources stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.53, for a total value of $23,329,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 110,470 shares in the company, valued at $17,181,399.10. This represents a 57.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 183,260 shares of company stock valued at $29,661,212. 1.39% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.