Targa Resources Corp. (NYSE:TRGP) Stake Decreased by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lessened its stake in shares of Targa Resources Corp. (NYSE:TRGP - Free Report) by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,097,805 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 104,217 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 0.96% of Targa Resources worth $374,453,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Targa Resources during the 4th quarter valued at about $505,132,000. GQG Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Targa Resources in the 4th quarter valued at $393,335,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in shares of Targa Resources by 981.8% during the 4th quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,144,109 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $204,223,000 after buying an additional 1,038,350 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Targa Resources in the 4th quarter worth $150,372,000. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Targa Resources by 568.7% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. now owns 970,373 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $173,212,000 after acquiring an additional 825,267 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.13% of the company's stock.

Targa Resources Stock Up 2.6 %

TRGP stock traded up $4.52 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $176.87. 1,330,705 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,941,436. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $186.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $187.63. The company has a market capitalization of $38.48 billion, a PE ratio of 30.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.75. Targa Resources Corp. has a twelve month low of $110.09 and a twelve month high of $218.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.05.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The pipeline company reported $1.44 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $4.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.48 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that Targa Resources Corp. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Targa Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 1st will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. Targa Resources's dividend payout ratio is currently 69.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Targa Resources from $202.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Targa Resources from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Targa Resources from $220.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Mizuho increased their target price on Targa Resources from $208.00 to $226.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Targa Resources from $218.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $210.64.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Targa Resources news, CEO Matthew J. Meloy sold 48,837 shares of Targa Resources 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 directly owns 725,628 shares in the company, valued at $141,555,510.24. The trade was a 6.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jennifer R. Kneale sold 29,887 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.42, for a total value of $5,750,856.54. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 227,269 shares of the company's stock, valued at $43,731,100.98. This trade represents a 11.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 115,914 shares of company stock worth $22,613,288 over the last ninety days. 1.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Targa Resources

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.