Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 211,237 Shares of Targa Resources, Inc. $TRGP

Russell Investments Group Ltd. decreased its holdings in shares of Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP) by 33.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 424,692 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 211,237 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Targa Resources were worth $73,939,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in TRGP. Disciplina Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Targa Resources during the 1st quarter valued at about $46,000. Hilltop National Bank bought a new stake in Targa Resources during the second quarter worth approximately $63,000. Private Trust Co. NA raised its position in Targa Resources by 57.1% during the second quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 476 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the period. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC raised its position in Targa Resources by 61.0% during the second quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 483 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. Finally, MTM Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Targa Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $98,000. 92.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider D. Scott Pryor sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.21, for a total value of $3,444,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 22,139 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,812,557.19. This represents a 47.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on TRGP. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $205.00 target price (up previously from $198.00) on shares of Targa Resources in a research report on Friday, August 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Targa Resources from $189.00 to $188.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Targa Resources from $185.00 to $196.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $213.00 target price on shares of Targa Resources in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Targa Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $210.21.

Targa Resources Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of TRGP opened at $173.28 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $162.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $165.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.51, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.16. Targa Resources, Inc. has a 12-month low of $144.14 and a 12-month high of $218.51.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The pipeline company reported $2.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $4.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.70 billion. Targa Resources had a net margin of 8.99% and a return on equity of 43.35%. Equities research analysts expect that Targa Resources, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Targa Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 17th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st were issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 31st. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Targa Resources’s payout ratio is presently 53.19%.

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.