Bank of Nova Scotia Purchases 35,428 Shares of Targa Resources, Inc. $TRGP

Bank of Nova Scotia raised its position in shares of Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP) by 70.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 85,630 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after acquiring an additional 35,428 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in Targa Resources were worth $21,470,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp increased its position in Targa Resources by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,668,233 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,337,289,000 after purchasing an additional 162,878 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Targa Resources by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,867,345 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,078,497,000 after purchasing an additional 45,495 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Targa Resources during the fourth quarter valued at $735,758,000. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. grew its stake in shares of Targa Resources by 20.3% in the 4th quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. now owns 3,389,006 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $625,272,000 after buying an additional 572,562 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Targa Resources by 48.5% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,290,099 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $607,023,000 after buying an additional 1,075,246 shares in the last quarter. 92.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Targa Resources Price Performance

TRGP stock opened at $281.04 on Friday. Targa Resources, Inc. has a 12 month low of $144.14 and a 12 month high of $291.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.64. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $269.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $241.99. The stock has a market cap of $60.32 billion, a PE ratio of 28.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.71.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The pipeline company reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.48 by ($0.27). Targa Resources had a net margin of 12.87% and a return on equity of 71.00%. The firm had revenue of $4.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.68 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Targa Resources, Inc. will post 10.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Targa Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Targa Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Targa Resources

In related news, Director Charles R. Crisp sold 10,602 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was 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 trade represents a 13.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.37% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. US Capital Advisors cut shares of Targa Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $310.00 price objective on shares of Targa Resources in a research note on Tuesday. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Targa Resources from $249.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Targa Resources from $291.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $318.00 target price on shares of Targa Resources in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $288.00.

Targa Resources Company 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.