Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Makes New Investment in Targa Resources Corp. (NYSE:TRGP)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Targa Resources Corp. (NYSE:TRGP - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 47,337 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $7,006,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new stake in Targa Resources in the second quarter worth $72,345,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Targa Resources by 239.1% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 791,095 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $101,877,000 after acquiring an additional 557,832 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Targa Resources by 26.2% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,738,721 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $194,720,000 after acquiring an additional 360,675 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Targa Resources by 13.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,303,522 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $296,647,000 after purchasing an additional 271,444 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blackstone Inc. boosted its position in Targa Resources by 2.7% during the first quarter. Blackstone Inc. now owns 9,695,457 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,085,794,000 after purchasing an additional 252,729 shares during the period. 92.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Robert Muraro sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.20, for a total transaction of $365,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 174,451 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,504,736.20. This trade represents a 1.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider D. Scott Pryor sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.33, for a total transaction of $5,709,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 82,979 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,793,393.07. This trade represents a 26.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 185,760 shares of company stock valued at $30,026,712. 1.39% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Targa Resources Price Performance

Targa Resources stock traded down $0.38 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $207.31. 1,267,090 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,659,815. Targa Resources Corp. has a 1-year low of $81.03 and a 1-year high of $209.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.05. The business has a fifty day moving average of $169.37 and a 200 day moving average of $143.93. The company has a market capitalization of $45.21 billion, a PE ratio of 37.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 2.24.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The pipeline company reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $3.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.24 billion. Targa Resources had a net margin of 7.65% and a return on equity of 27.59%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.97 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Targa Resources Corp. will post 6.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Targa Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. Targa Resources's dividend payout ratio is currently 54.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TRGP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Targa Resources in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $182.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group lifted their price target on Targa Resources from $182.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Targa Resources from $147.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Targa Resources from $190.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Targa Resources from $173.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $176.50.

Targa Resources 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.