Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Lowers Stock Position in Targa Resources, Inc. $TRGP

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP cut its holdings in Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP) by 1.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,271,626 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 28,547 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Targa Resources were worth $380,612,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Targa Resources by 1.5% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,382,289 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $4,755,169,000 after purchasing an additional 422,075 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Targa Resources by 1.7% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,856,899 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,022,222,000 after buying an additional 95,611 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Targa Resources in the second quarter valued at about $708,366,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in shares of Targa Resources by 12.0% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,886,844 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $328,462,000 after acquiring an additional 201,927 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in shares of Targa Resources by 7.2% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,601,244 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $278,745,000 after acquiring an additional 107,028 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.13% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Targa Resources news, President Jennifer R. Kneale sold 29,509 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the president directly owned 235,260 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $54,138,031.20. This trade represents a 11.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lindsey Cooksen sold 435 shares of Targa Resources stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.72, for a total value of $100,798.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 11,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,704,172.40. This trade represents a 3.59% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 80,340 shares of company stock valued at $18,757,824. 1.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on TRGP. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Targa Resources in a report on Friday, January 9th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Targa Resources from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Targa Resources from $213.00 to $243.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Targa Resources in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Targa Resources from $218.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Targa Resources currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $240.79.

Targa Resources Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE TRGP opened at $238.99 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $204.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $179.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.21, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The company has a market cap of $51.37 billion, a PE ratio of 27.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.84. Targa Resources, Inc. has a 12 month low of $144.14 and a 12 month high of $250.00.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The pipeline company reported $2.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.35 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $4.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.12 billion. Targa Resources had a net margin of 10.88% and a return on equity of 65.48%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Targa Resources, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Targa Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 30th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Targa Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.57%.

Targa Resources Profile

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.