Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. Invests $18.50 Million in Targa Resources, Inc. $TRGP

Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 110,413 shares of the pipeline company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,499,000. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. owned 0.05% of Targa Resources as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Targa Resources by 17.7% during the first quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 8,571 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,718,000 after buying an additional 1,287 shares during the period. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp boosted its holdings in Targa Resources by 30.2% during the 1st quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 11,508 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $2,307,000 after acquiring an additional 2,667 shares during the period. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in Targa Resources in the 1st quarter valued at about $388,000. State of Wyoming acquired a new position in Targa Resources in the 1st quarter valued at about $403,000. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Targa Resources by 8.1% during the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,478 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $697,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Targa Resources

In other Targa Resources news, insider D. Scott Pryor sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.21, for a total transaction of $3,444,200.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 22,139 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,812,557.19. This trade represents a 47.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Gerald R. Shrader sold 2,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.21, for a total transaction of $498,327.50. Following the sale, the insider owned 29,561 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,356,748.81. This represents a 8.51% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Targa Resources Price Performance

Shares of TRGP opened at $182.77 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.30, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.89. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $170.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $167.64. Targa Resources, Inc. has a twelve month low of $144.14 and a twelve month high of $218.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.91.

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

Targa Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 31st. Targa Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TRGP has been the subject of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Targa Resources from $185.00 to $196.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Targa Resources from $205.00 to $207.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Targa Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $213.00 price objective on Targa Resources in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Targa Resources from $214.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Targa Resources presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $210.79.

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.