Banco Santander S.A. Reduces Holdings in Targa Resources Corp. (NYSE:TRGP)

Banco Santander S.A. lessened its position in shares of Targa Resources Corp. (NYSE:TRGP) by 23.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,798 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 1,191 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in Targa Resources were worth $678,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Novus Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Targa Resources during the 4th quarter valued at $686,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. lifted its holdings in Targa Resources by 14.9% during the 4th quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 57,865 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $10,329,000 after purchasing an additional 7,491 shares in the last quarter. Callan Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in Targa Resources during the 4th quarter worth about $432,000. Candriam S.C.A. lifted its holdings in Targa Resources by 20.5% during the 4th quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 28,054 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $5,008,000 after purchasing an additional 4,764 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Targa Resources during the 4th quarter worth about $150,372,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on TRGP shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Targa Resources from $185.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Targa Resources from $220.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Scotiabank lowered their price target on Targa Resources from $218.00 to $210.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. US Capital Advisors cut Targa Resources from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Targa Resources from $182.00 to $246.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Targa Resources has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $206.43.

Insider Transactions at Targa Resources

In other news, CEO Matthew J. Meloy sold 48,837 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.08, for a total value of $9,527,121.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 725,628 shares in the company, valued at $141,555,510.24. This trade represents a 6.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Waters S. Iv Davis sold 2,190 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 2,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $568,957.74. The trade was a 43.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 115,914 shares of company stock worth $22,613,288. 1.39% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Targa Resources Price Performance

TRGP opened at $181.93 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $198.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $180.22. 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 Corp. has a 1 year low of $103.18 and a 1 year high of $218.51. The firm has a market cap of $39.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.70, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 2.32.

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

Targa Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.65%. Targa Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.26%.

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.