Independent Advisor Alliance Buys 10,862 Shares of Targa Resources Corp. (NYSE:TRGP)

Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its stake in shares of Targa Resources Corp. (NYSE:TRGP) by 164.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,461 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,862 shares during the quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in Targa Resources were worth $3,117,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Targa Resources in the 4th quarter worth about $150,372,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Targa Resources by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,106,591 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,235,927,000 after acquiring an additional 633,589 shares during the last quarter. Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Targa Resources by 20.9% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,841,175 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $353,469,000 after acquiring an additional 318,261 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in shares of Targa Resources by 75.4% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 604,112 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $89,413,000 after acquiring an additional 259,776 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in shares of Targa Resources by 40.0% in the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 890,514 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $158,957,000 after acquiring an additional 254,286 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.13% of the company’s stock.

Targa Resources Trading Up 3.3 %

Shares of TRGP stock opened at $187.14 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $199.00 and a 200-day moving average of $180.77. 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 Corp. has a 12-month low of $104.89 and a 12-month high of $218.51. The firm has a market cap of $40.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.60, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 2.32.

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

Targa Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. Targa Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Targa Resources news, CEO Matthew J. Meloy sold 48,837 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.08, for a total value of $9,527,121.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 725,628 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $141,555,510.24. This trade represents a 6.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jennifer R. Kneale sold 29,887 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.42, for a total transaction of $5,750,856.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 227,269 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,731,100.98. The trade was a 11.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 115,914 shares of company stock valued at $22,613,288. Company insiders own 1.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on TRGP shares. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Targa Resources from $171.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Targa Resources from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Targa Resources from $218.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Targa Resources from $208.00 to $226.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Targa Resources from $185.00 to $223.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Targa Resources presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $206.43.

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.