Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Sells 60,041 Shares of Targa Resources, Inc. $TRGP

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd decreased its position in shares of Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP) by 40.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 86,637 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 60,041 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s holdings in Targa Resources were worth $21,494,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Woodline Partners LP grew its stake in Targa Resources by 40.7% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 18,423 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $3,693,000 after purchasing an additional 5,327 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its position in Targa Resources by 157.4% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 3,931 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $788,000 after buying an additional 2,404 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Targa Resources by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,697 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $644,000 after buying an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Targa Resources by 13.1% during the 2nd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 4,521 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $787,000 after buying an additional 524 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Targa Resources by 11.0% in the 2nd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 31,881 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $5,550,000 after buying an additional 3,163 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on TRGP shares. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Targa Resources from $270.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Targa Resources from $242.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $281.00 target price on shares of Targa Resources in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $268.00 target price on shares of Targa Resources in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, 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 target on the stock. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $285.93.

Insider Activity at Targa Resources

In other news, Director Charles R. Crisp sold 10,602 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.96, for a total transaction of $2,713,687.92. Following the sale, the director owned 66,492 shares in the company, valued at $17,019,292.32. This represents a 13.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Targa Resources Price Performance

TRGP opened at $283.39 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $267.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $238.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.64, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market cap of $60.83 billion, a PE ratio of 28.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.71. Targa Resources, Inc. has a 1 year low of $144.14 and a 1 year high of $285.56.

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

Targa Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be paid a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. Targa Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.56%.

About Targa Resources

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.