NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC Purchases Shares of 35,618 Targa Resources, Inc. $TRGP

NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC purchased a new position in shares of Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 35,618 shares of the pipeline company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,535,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Alps Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Targa Resources by 5.5% during the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 143,904 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $24,110,000 after purchasing an additional 7,497 shares during the last quarter. Korea Investment CORP boosted its holdings in Targa Resources by 37.4% in the third quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 260,760 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $43,688,000 after purchasing an additional 70,998 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in Targa Resources by 137.9% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 66,636 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $11,164,000 after purchasing an additional 38,626 shares during the last quarter. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT increased its stake in Targa Resources by 2.4% in the third quarter. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT now owns 682,300 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $114,313,000 after purchasing an additional 16,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Targa Resources by 5.0% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 484,462 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $81,167,000 after purchasing an additional 22,969 shares in the last quarter. 92.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Targa Resources Stock Performance

Shares of Targa Resources stock opened at $237.72 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $216.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $185.68. Targa Resources, Inc. has a 12 month low of $144.14 and a 12 month high of $250.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.67, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.21, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The pipeline company reported $2.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $4.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.12 billion. Targa Resources had a net margin of 10.88% and a return on equity of 65.48%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Targa Resources, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Targa Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. Targa Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TRGP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Targa Resources from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Targa Resources in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Targa Resources in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Targa Resources from $192.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Targa Resources from $248.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. One investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $246.54.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Charles R. Crisp sold 1,359 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $229.30, for a total value of $311,618.70. Following the transaction, the director owned 77,094 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,677,654.20. The trade was a 1.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Robert Muraro sold 24,589 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.34, for a total value of $5,934,309.26. Following the sale, the insider owned 197,401 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,640,757.34. This trade represents a 11.08% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 104,929 shares of company stock worth $24,692,134. 1.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.