The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Purchases 74,241 Shares of Targa Resources, Inc. $TRGP

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP) by 24.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 374,589 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after acquiring an additional 74,241 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.17% of Targa Resources worth $100,442,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Targa Resources by 37,275.4% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 93,258,824 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $25,006,421,000 after purchasing an additional 93,009,305 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Targa Resources during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $735,758,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Targa Resources during the second quarter valued at approximately $734,846,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in Targa Resources in the second quarter worth approximately $336,575,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Targa Resources by 48.5% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,290,099 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $607,023,000 after buying an additional 1,075,246 shares in the last quarter. 92.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Targa Resources Price Performance

Shares of TRGP opened at $290.25 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $280.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $261.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.01. Targa Resources, Inc. has a twelve month low of $144.14 and a twelve month high of $307.94. The company has a market cap of $62.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.72.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The pipeline company reported $3.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by $0.71. The business had revenue of $4.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.90 billion. Targa Resources had a return on equity of 69.26% and a net margin of 13.55%. As a group, analysts predict that Targa Resources, Inc. will post 11.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Targa Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st were paid a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 31st. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Targa Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Targa Resources

In other news, Director Charles R. Crisp sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.23, for a total transaction of $870,690.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 62,292 shares in the company, valued at $18,079,007.16. This represents a 4.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Waters S. Iv Davis sold 2,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.67, for a total transaction of $719,208.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,529 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $458,195.43. The trade was a 61.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,216 shares of company stock worth $2,127,634. 1.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on TRGP shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Targa Resources from $324.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Targa Resources in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Targa Resources from $333.00 to $343.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Targa Resources in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on Targa Resources in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $340.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $309.94.

About Targa Resources

Targa Resources Corp. (NYSE: TRGP) is a midstream energy infrastructure company that gathers, processes, transports and fractionates natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGLs). Its operations connect producers with downstream markets and include natural gas gathering and processing, NGL fractionation, storage, transportation and marketing, as well as crude oil gathering and logistics.

The company operates an integrated network of pipelines, processing plants, fractionation facilities, storage assets and export infrastructure across the United States.