Chesapeake Asset Management LLC Increases Stake in Targa Resources, Inc. $TRGP

Chesapeake Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP) by 314.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,116 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,365 shares during the quarter. Chesapeake Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Targa Resources were worth $575,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Targa Resources by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,382,289 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $4,755,169,000 after buying an additional 422,075 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Targa Resources by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 19,643,139 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $3,291,012,000 after purchasing an additional 1,620,253 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Targa Resources in the second quarter valued at approximately $708,366,000. UBS Group AG grew its stake in Targa Resources by 9.9% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,360,311 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $395,447,000 after buying an additional 212,887 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Targa Resources by 4.1% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,175,544 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $364,491,000 after acquiring an additional 84,757 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.13% of the company’s stock.

Targa Resources Stock Performance

TRGP stock opened at $237.72 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $51.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.84. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $216.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $185.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.21. Targa Resources, Inc. has a 12-month low of $144.14 and a 12-month high of $250.00.

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

Targa Resources Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on TRGP shares. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Targa Resources from $192.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $241.00 price objective on shares of Targa Resources in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Targa Resources in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Mizuho raised their target price on Targa Resources from $207.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Targa Resources from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. One research 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Targa Resources has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $246.54.

Insider Buying and Selling at Targa Resources

In related news, Director Lindsey Cooksen sold 435 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.72, for a total transaction of $100,798.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 11,670 shares in the company, valued at $2,704,172.40. This represents a 3.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Patrick J. Mcdonie sold 31,537 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $239.36, for a total transaction of $7,548,696.32. Following the transaction, the insider owned 305,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $73,043,815.68. This represents a 9.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 104,929 shares of company stock worth $24,692,134. Corporate insiders own 1.34% of the company’s stock.

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.