Lazard Asset Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Targa Resources Corp. (NYSE:TRGP)

Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Targa Resources Corp. (NYSE:TRGP) by 159.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 69,974 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 42,955 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Targa Resources were worth $12,490,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of TRGP. Colonial Trust Co SC lifted its stake in Targa Resources by 5,400.0% in the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 165 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in Targa Resources in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC purchased a new position in Targa Resources in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Targa Resources by 394.6% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 183 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Bank Ltd. purchased a new position in Targa Resources in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on TRGP shares. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Targa Resources from $202.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Barclays dropped their target price on Targa Resources from $211.00 to $206.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Mizuho dropped their target price on Targa Resources from $226.00 to $218.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Targa Resources from $218.00 to $194.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on Targa Resources from $227.00 to $197.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Targa Resources currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $202.93.

Targa Resources Trading Up 2.4%

Targa Resources stock opened at $170.24 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $36.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.66, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.22. Targa Resources Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $112.27 and a fifty-two week high of $218.51. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $178.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $188.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.05, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.77.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The pipeline company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.04 by ($1.13). The firm had revenue of $4.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.01 billion. Targa Resources had a return on equity of 28.67% and a net margin of 7.81%. Equities research analysts forecast that Targa Resources Corp. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Targa Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 1st will be issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.34%. Targa Resources’s payout ratio is currently 73.66%.

Insider Transactions at Targa Resources

In related news, insider D. Scott Pryor sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.30, for a total value of $6,905,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 82,139 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,206,024.70. This represents a 29.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Waters S. Iv Davis sold 2,190 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.26, for a total value of $429,809.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,899 shares in the company, valued at approximately $568,957.74. This represents a 43.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 115,914 shares of company stock valued at $22,613,288. 1.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.