Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Acquires 3,981 Shares of Targa Resources, Inc. $TRGP

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its holdings in shares of Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP) by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 209,915 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after buying an additional 3,981 shares during the quarter. Targa Resources makes up 0.7% of Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Targa Resources were worth $35,169,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Woodline Partners LP boosted its position in Targa Resources by 40.7% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 18,423 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $3,693,000 after purchasing an additional 5,327 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its holdings in shares of Targa Resources by 157.4% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 3,931 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $788,000 after buying an additional 2,404 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its stake in shares of Targa Resources by 13.0% in the second quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 26,804 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $4,666,000 after buying an additional 3,088 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Targa Resources by 18.0% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 48,930 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $8,490,000 after buying an additional 7,473 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IFM Investors Pty Ltd raised its position in Targa Resources by 11.8% during the second quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 52,489 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $9,137,000 after acquiring an additional 5,541 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $213.00 target price on shares of Targa Resources in a report on Thursday, November 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Targa Resources from $214.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Targa Resources from $240.00 to $261.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Targa Resources from $205.00 to $207.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Targa Resources from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Targa Resources has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $213.14.

Insider Buying and Selling at Targa Resources

In other Targa Resources news, insider D. Scott Pryor sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.21, for a total value of $3,444,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 22,139 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,812,557.19. This trade represents a 47.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Gerald R. Shrader sold 2,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.21, for a total transaction of $498,327.50. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 29,561 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,356,748.81. This trade represents a 8.51% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 1.34% of the company’s stock.

Targa Resources Trading Up 1.9%

TRGP stock opened at $185.46 on Friday. Targa Resources, Inc. has a 52 week low of $144.14 and a 52 week high of $218.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.91, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.77. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $178.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $168.75. The company has a market capitalization of $39.81 billion, a PE ratio of 24.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.87.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The pipeline company reported $2.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by ($0.02). Targa Resources had a return on equity of 51.87% and a net margin of 9.35%.The business had revenue of $4.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.70 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Targa Resources, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Targa Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 30th. Targa Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.19%.

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.