Kentucky Retirement Systems Cuts Position in Targa Resources Corp. (NYSE:TRGP)

Kentucky Retirement Systems cut its holdings in shares of Targa Resources Corp. (NYSE:TRGP) by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,262 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 1,446 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Targa Resources were worth $2,259,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in Targa Resources in the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. DT Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Targa Resources in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Targa Resources by 2,220.0% in the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 232 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. purchased a new position in Targa Resources during the 2nd quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Targa Resources during the second quarter valued at approximately $69,000. 92.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider D. Scott Pryor sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.33, for a total value of $5,709,900.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 82,979 shares in the company, valued at $15,793,393.07. The trade was a 26.55 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Julie H. Boushka sold 3,260 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.74, for a total transaction of $621,812.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 35,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,703,175.82. The trade was a 8.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 185,760 shares of company stock worth $30,026,712. Corporate insiders own 1.39% of the company’s stock.

Targa Resources Stock Up 2.3 %

NYSE TRGP opened at $196.04 on Monday. Targa Resources Corp. has a 12 month low of $81.03 and a 12 month high of $197.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.05. The stock has a market cap of $42.75 billion, a PE ratio of 35.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 2.24. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $163.51 and its 200 day moving average is $140.95.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The pipeline company reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $3.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.24 billion. Targa Resources had a net margin of 7.65% and a return on equity of 27.59%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.97 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Targa Resources Corp. will post 6.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Targa Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.53%. Targa Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on TRGP. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Targa Resources from $147.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Targa Resources from $172.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Targa Resources in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $182.00 price target for the company. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Targa Resources from $155.00 to $171.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Targa Resources from $182.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $169.79.

About Targa Resources

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.