Targa Resources Corp. (NYSE:TRGP) CEO Sells $9,527,121.96 in Stock

Targa Resources Corp. (NYSE:TRGP) CEO Matthew J. Meloy sold 48,837 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.08, for a total transaction of $9,527,121.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 725,628 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $141,555,510.24. The trade was a 6.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Targa Resources Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of TRGP stock opened at $198.20 on Thursday. Targa Resources Corp. has a 1 year low of $96.64 and a 1 year high of $218.51. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $197.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $177.53. The company has a market cap of $43.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.53, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 2.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.05, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.61.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The pipeline company reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.90 by ($0.46). Targa Resources had a net margin of 7.81% and a return on equity of 28.67%. The company had revenue of $4.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.48 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Targa Resources Corp. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Targa Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.51%. Targa Resources’s payout ratio is 52.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TRGP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. US Capital Advisors downgraded shares of Targa Resources from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Targa Resources in a research note on Friday, January 10th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $218.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Targa Resources from $182.00 to $246.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Targa Resources from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Targa Resources from $171.00 to $204.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.43.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Targa Resources

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of TRGP. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new position in Targa Resources in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Targa Resources by 32.2% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 156,371 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $27,912,000 after buying an additional 38,105 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Targa Resources by 383.0% in the fourth quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 376,353 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $67,179,000 after buying an additional 298,429 shares in the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Targa Resources by 121.6% during the fourth quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 5,572 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $995,000 after acquiring an additional 3,058 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinkerton Retirement Specialists LLC boosted its position in shares of Targa Resources by 172.9% during the fourth quarter. Pinkerton Retirement Specialists LLC now owns 4,727 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $844,000 after acquiring an additional 2,995 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.13% of the company’s stock.

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.