Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Lowers Stock Position in Targa Resources Corp. (NYSE:TRGP)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. decreased its holdings in Targa Resources Corp. (NYSE:TRGP) by 9.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,140 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 450 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Targa Resources were worth $533,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of TRGP. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Targa Resources by 2,220.0% in the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 232 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. purchased a new stake in Targa Resources during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Register Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Targa Resources during the 1st quarter worth approximately $45,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Targa Resources in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Finally, Rogco LP acquired a new position in shares of Targa Resources in the first quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.13% of the company’s stock.

Targa Resources Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:TRGP opened at $152.86 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $33.89 billion, a PE ratio of 31.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 2.26. Targa Resources Corp. has a 52-week low of $77.97 and a 52-week high of $154.87. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $141.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $125.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.98.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The pipeline company reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.12. Targa Resources had a net margin of 6.60% and a return on equity of 23.98%. The company had revenue of $3.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.44 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Targa Resources Corp. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Targa Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. Targa Resources’s payout ratio is 61.73%.

Insider Transactions at Targa Resources

In related news, insider Robert Muraro sold 2,500 shares of Targa Resources stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.20, for a total transaction of $365,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 174,451 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,504,736.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Targa Resources news, CAO Julie H. Boushka sold 12,641 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.50, for a total transaction of $1,700,214.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 38,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,165,203.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Robert Muraro sold 2,500 shares of Targa Resources stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.20, for a total value of $365,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 174,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,504,736.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 35,534 shares of company stock valued at $4,788,590 over the last three months. 1.39% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on TRGP shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Targa Resources from $147.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Targa Resources from $123.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Targa Resources from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Targa Resources from $116.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their target price on Targa Resources from $128.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Targa Resources has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $141.77.

Targa Resources Company Profile

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.