Targa Resources Corp. (NYSE:TRGP) Shares Sold by Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC

Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC decreased its position in Targa Resources Corp. (NYSE:TRGP) by 57.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 16,377 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 22,298 shares during the period. Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC’s holdings in Targa Resources were worth $2,923,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in TRGP. MML Investors Services LLC grew its stake in Targa Resources by 65.1% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 25,615 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $3,791,000 after acquiring an additional 10,100 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Targa Resources by 85.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 28,530 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $5,070,000 after purchasing an additional 13,167 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Targa Resources by 191.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,268 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,476,000 after purchasing an additional 5,431 shares during the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Targa Resources during the 4th quarter worth approximately $271,000. Finally, Braun Stacey Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Targa Resources during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $11,042,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.13% of the company’s stock.

Targa Resources Stock Performance

NYSE:TRGP opened at $194.76 on Wednesday. Targa Resources Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $95.88 and a fifty-two week high of $218.51. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $196.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $177.38. The company has a market cap of $42.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.93, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 2.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.05.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The pipeline company reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by ($0.46). Targa Resources had a net margin of 7.81% and a return on equity of 28.67%. The firm had revenue of $4.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.48 billion. Analysts expect that Targa Resources Corp. will post 8.15 EPS for the current year.

Targa Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Targa Resources’s payout ratio is currently 52.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on TRGP shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Targa Resources from $185.00 to $223.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. US Capital Advisors lowered Targa Resources from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Targa Resources from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Targa Resources in a report on Friday, January 10th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $218.00 target price on the stock. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Targa Resources from $182.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.43.

Targa Resources 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.