Van ECK Associates Corp Has $5.96 Million Position in Targa Resources Corp. (NYSE:TRGP)

Van ECK Associates Corp trimmed its position in shares of Targa Resources Corp. (NYSE:TRGP) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 68,614 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 755 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Targa Resources were worth $5,960,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd increased its holdings in Targa Resources by 36.1% in the third quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 565 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Targa Resources by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,970 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $432,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Targa Resources by 3.1% during the third quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 5,687 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $487,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Targa Resources by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 4,084 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $355,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the period. Finally, VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in Targa Resources by 111.2% in the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 397 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. 92.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Targa Resources Price Performance

Shares of TRGP opened at $112.31 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $24.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.11 and a beta of 2.19. The business’s fifty day moving average is $110.02 and its 200 day moving average is $94.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. Targa Resources Corp. has a 12-month low of $67.36 and a 12-month high of $117.87.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The pipeline company reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.26). The business had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.50 billion. Targa Resources had a net margin of 6.86% and a return on equity of 24.50%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Targa Resources Corp. will post 5.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Targa Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.67%. This is an increase from Targa Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Targa Resources’s payout ratio is 61.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on TRGP shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Targa Resources from $109.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Targa Resources from $105.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Targa Resources from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Targa Resources from $106.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Targa Resources from $111.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $119.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Julie H. Boushka sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.66, for a total value of $244,150.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 71,808 shares in the company, valued at $7,012,769.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Targa Resources news, Director Joe Bob Perkins sold 33,405 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.67, for a total value of $3,262,666.35. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 38,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,754,434.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Julie H. Boushka sold 2,500 shares of Targa Resources stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.66, for a total transaction of $244,150.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 71,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,012,769.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 81,966 shares of company stock valued at $7,987,215. Corporate insiders own 1.39% of the company’s stock.

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.