Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Reduces Stock Holdings in Targa Resources, Inc. $TRGP

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lowered its stake in shares of Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP) by 4.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 204,295 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 8,626 shares during the quarter. Targa Resources accounts for 1.0% of Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Targa Resources were worth $51,223,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new position in Targa Resources during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new position in Targa Resources during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Miller Capital Partners Inc. bought a new position in Targa Resources during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new stake in Targa Resources in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Targa Resources in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. 92.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Targa Resources Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:TRGP opened at $281.58 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $60.44 billion, a PE ratio of 28.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.64. Targa Resources, Inc. has a 12-month low of $144.14 and a 12-month high of $282.81. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $265.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $236.91.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The pipeline company reported $2.21 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by ($0.27). Targa Resources had a return on equity of 71.00% and a net margin of 12.87%.The company had revenue of $4.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.68 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Targa Resources, Inc. will post 10.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Targa Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were issued a $1.25 dividend. This is a boost from Targa Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. Targa Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Targa Resources news, Director Charles R. Crisp sold 10,602 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.96, for a total transaction of $2,713,687.92. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 66,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,019,292.32. This represents a 13.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.37% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Targa Resources in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $314.00 target price for the company. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $318.00 price target on shares of Targa Resources in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Targa Resources in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Erste Group Bank began coverage on Targa Resources in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Targa Resources in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Targa Resources has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $282.73.

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.