Principal Financial Group Inc. Trims Stock Position in Targa Resources, Inc. $TRGP

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP) by 16.7% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 554,029 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 111,311 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Targa Resources were worth $92,824,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of TRGP. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Targa Resources in the second quarter worth approximately $708,366,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its position in Targa Resources by 441.3% during the second quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 675,352 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $117,565,000 after purchasing an additional 550,591 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Targa Resources by 306.6% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 601,370 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $104,686,000 after purchasing an additional 453,460 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Targa Resources by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,960,214 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $4,867,314,000 after purchasing an additional 375,939 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ensign Peak Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Targa Resources by 290.5% in the 2nd quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 503,770 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $87,696,000 after purchasing an additional 374,768 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.13% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Gerald R. Shrader sold 2,750 shares of Targa Resources stock in a transaction dated 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. The trade was a 8.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider D. Scott Pryor sold 20,000 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 22,139 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,812,557.19. This represents a 47.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 1.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on TRGP. Stifel Nicolaus set a $213.00 price objective on Targa Resources in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Targa Resources from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $196.00 price objective on shares of Targa Resources in a research note on Monday, January 12th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Targa Resources in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $266.00 price target on shares of Targa Resources in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Targa Resources presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $213.50.

Targa Resources Price Performance

TRGP stock opened at $198.69 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $42.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.91, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.77. Targa Resources, Inc. has a 1 year low of $144.14 and a 1 year high of $211.87. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $183.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $170.48.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The pipeline company reported $2.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $4.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.70 billion. Targa Resources had a return on equity of 51.87% and a net margin of 9.35%. On average, equities analysts predict that Targa Resources, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Targa Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 30th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Targa Resources’s payout ratio is 53.19%.

Targa Resources Profile

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.