Comerica Bank Lowers Position in Targa Resources, Inc. $TRGP

Comerica Bank trimmed its stake in Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP) by 38.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 30,990 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 19,288 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank’s holdings in Targa Resources were worth $5,718,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Targa Resources in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Peoples Financial Services CORP. purchased a new stake in Targa Resources in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Targa Resources in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Targa Resources in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Avion Wealth grew its holdings in Targa Resources by 475.0% in the third quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 276 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the period. 92.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Targa Resources Price Performance

TRGP opened at $260.29 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.21. Targa Resources, Inc. has a 52-week low of $144.14 and a 52-week high of $260.49. The company has a 50 day moving average of $240.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $201.32. The company has a market cap of $55.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.81.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The pipeline company reported $2.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.16. Targa Resources had a net margin of 10.88% and a return on equity of 65.48%. The company had revenue of $4.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.12 billion. On average, analysts expect that Targa Resources, Inc. will post 10.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Targa Resources Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Robert Muraro sold 24,589 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.34, for a total value of $5,934,309.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 197,401 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,640,757.34. This represents a 11.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, President Jennifer R. Kneale sold 29,509 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.12, for a total transaction of $6,790,611.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the president owned 235,260 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $54,138,031.20. This trade represents a 11.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 104,929 shares of company stock valued at $24,692,134. Corporate insiders own 1.37% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on TRGP. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Targa Resources from $192.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Targa Resources from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Targa Resources from $226.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Targa Resources from $298.00 to $327.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Targa Resources from $213.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Targa Resources presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $259.93.

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.