ELCO Management Co. LLC Sells 3,979 Shares of Targa Resources, Inc. $TRGP

ELCO Management Co. LLC decreased its holdings in Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP) by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 52,821 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 3,979 shares during the quarter. Targa Resources comprises 4.6% of ELCO Management Co. LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. ELCO Management Co. LLC’s holdings in Targa Resources were worth $8,850,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in Targa Resources by 26.1% in the third quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,811 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $303,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares during the period. Linscomb Wealth Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Targa Resources by 6.3% during the third quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc. now owns 2,956 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $495,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the period. Gallacher Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Targa Resources during the third quarter worth about $766,000. Savant Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Targa Resources by 2.6% during the third quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 2,849 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $477,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Machina Capital S.A.S. acquired a new position in Targa Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at about $767,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on TRGP. Wall Street Zen cut Targa Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Targa Resources in a report on Friday, January 9th. Weiss Ratings raised Targa Resources from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $213.00 price objective on shares of Targa Resources in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $266.00 price objective on shares of Targa Resources in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $213.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Gerald R. Shrader sold 2,750 shares of Targa Resources stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.21, for a total transaction of $498,327.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 29,561 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,356,748.81. This trade represents a 8.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider D. Scott Pryor sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.21, for a total value of $3,444,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 22,139 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,812,557.19. This represents a 47.46% 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 Stock Up 0.3%

Targa Resources stock opened at $204.32 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $184.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $170.94. Targa Resources, Inc. has a 1-year low of $144.14 and a 1-year high of $211.87. The company has a market cap of $43.86 billion, a PE ratio of 27.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.91, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.61.

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

Targa Resources Announces Dividend

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