Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY Grows Stake in Targa Resources, Inc. $TRGP

Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY grew its stake in shares of Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP) by 37.3% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 230,592 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after acquiring an additional 62,652 shares during the period. Targa Resources comprises about 1.6% of Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY’s holdings in Targa Resources were worth $57,816,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of TRGP. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new stake in Targa Resources during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Targa Resources in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Miller Capital Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Targa Resources during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new stake in shares of Targa Resources during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Targa Resources during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Charles R. Crisp sold 10,602 shares of Targa Resources stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.96, for a total value of $2,713,687.92. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 66,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,019,292.32. The trade was a 13.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Targa Resources Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of Targa Resources stock opened at $268.76 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $57.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.72. The company’s 50 day moving average is $257.71 and its 200 day moving average is $227.58. Targa Resources, Inc. has a twelve month low of $144.14 and a twelve month high of $280.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.64.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The pipeline company reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.48 by ($0.27). Targa Resources had a return on equity of 71.00% and a net margin of 12.87%.The company had revenue of $4.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.68 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Targa Resources, Inc. will post 10.75 EPS for the current year.

Targa Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were paid a $1.25 dividend. This is an increase from Targa Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Targa Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Targa Resources in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $314.00 price objective on the stock. US Capital Advisors lowered Targa Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Seaport Research Partners restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Targa Resources in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Targa Resources from $327.00 to $331.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Targa Resources from $228.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $272.73.

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.