Treasurer of the State of North Carolina Lowers Stock Position in Targa Resources Corp. (NYSE:TRGP)

Treasurer of the State of North Carolina trimmed its stake in Targa Resources Corp. (NYSE:TRGP) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 95,139 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 890 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina’s holdings in Targa Resources were worth $16,982,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in TRGP. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in Targa Resources during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Targa Resources by 394.6% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 183 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the period. Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Targa Resources in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Aspect Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Targa Resources by 144.4% in the fourth quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 220 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton increased its stake in Targa Resources by 49.4% during the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 269 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. 92.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider D. Scott Pryor sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.30, for a total value of $6,905,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 82,139 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,206,024.70. This trade represents a 29.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Waters S. Iv Davis sold 2,190 shares of Targa Resources stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.26, for a total transaction of $429,809.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,899 shares in the company, valued at approximately $568,957.74. The trade was a 43.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 115,914 shares of company stock valued at $22,613,288 over the last quarter. 1.39% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Targa Resources Stock Up 0.5 %

TRGP opened at $163.27 on Friday. Targa Resources Corp. has a one year low of $110.09 and a one year high of $218.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.05, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.75. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $192.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $186.83.

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

Targa Resources Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 28th will be paid a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.29%. Targa Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on TRGP shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Targa Resources from $185.00 to $223.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Targa Resources from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Scotiabank reduced their price target on Targa Resources from $218.00 to $210.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Targa Resources from $211.00 to $206.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Targa Resources from $220.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $210.64.

About Targa Resources

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.