Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Cuts Stake in Targa Resources, Inc. $TRGP

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lessened its position in Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP) by 27.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 146,178 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 54,661 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Targa Resources were worth $26,969,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Alps Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Targa Resources by 5.5% during the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 143,904 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $24,110,000 after purchasing an additional 7,497 shares during the last quarter. Korea Investment CORP lifted its holdings in shares of Targa Resources by 37.4% in the 3rd quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 260,760 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $43,688,000 after purchasing an additional 70,998 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its position in Targa Resources by 137.9% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 66,636 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $11,164,000 after purchasing an additional 38,626 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Targa Resources by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 484,462 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $81,167,000 after buying an additional 22,969 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NFC Investments LLC bought a new position in Targa Resources during the 3rd quarter worth $8,478,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Targa Resources

In other news, Director Charles R. Crisp sold 1,359 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.30, for a total value of $311,618.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 77,094 shares in the company, valued at $17,677,654.20. This trade represents a 1.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Robert Muraro sold 24,589 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.34, for a total transaction of $5,934,309.26. Following the transaction, the insider owned 197,401 shares in the company, valued at $47,640,757.34. This represents a 11.08% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 104,929 shares of company stock worth $24,692,134 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.37% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Targa Resources from $298.00 to $327.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Targa Resources from $246.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Targa Resources from $226.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $241.00 target price on shares of Targa Resources in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Targa Resources from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Targa Resources has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $259.93.

Targa Resources Trading Up 4.1%

Shares of TRGP stock opened at $260.29 on Friday. Targa Resources, Inc. has a 1 year low of $144.14 and a 1 year high of $260.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.91 billion, a PE ratio of 30.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.81. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $240.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $201.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.21, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.67.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The pipeline company reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.35 by $0.16. Targa Resources had a return on equity of 65.48% and a net margin of 10.88%.The company had revenue of $4.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.12 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that Targa Resources, Inc. will post 10.32 EPS for the current year.

Targa Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $1.25 per share. This is a positive change from Targa Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Targa Resources’s payout ratio is presently 58.21%.

Targa Resources Company 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.