Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. Cuts Position in Targa Resources, Inc. $TRGP

Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. lessened its stake in Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP) by 16.1% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,192 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 229 shares during the quarter. Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Targa Resources were worth $208,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Targa Resources by 25.1% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,466 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $494,000 after purchasing an additional 495 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Targa Resources by 48.1% in the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 2,535 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $508,000 after purchasing an additional 823 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Targa Resources in the 1st quarter valued at about $544,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its stake in Targa Resources by 29.9% in the 1st quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 3,758 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $753,000 after acquiring an additional 864 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Peak Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Targa Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at about $414,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.13% of the company’s stock.

Targa Resources Price Performance

Targa Resources stock opened at $166.44 on Wednesday. Targa Resources, Inc. has a 12-month low of $150.00 and a 12-month high of $218.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.12. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $165.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $168.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.93, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.56.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The pipeline company reported $2.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.92. Targa Resources had a net margin of 8.99% and a return on equity of 43.35%. The company had revenue of $4.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.82 billion. Equities analysts predict that Targa Resources, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Targa Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. This is an increase from Targa Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. Targa Resources’s dividend payout ratio is 56.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on TRGP shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Targa Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 21st. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Targa Resources in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $192.00 price objective on the stock. Cfra Research raised shares of Targa Resources to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $205.00 price objective (up from $198.00) on shares of Targa Resources in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Targa Resources in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $207.67.

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.