Franklin Resources Inc. Acquires 48,600 Shares of Targa Resources Corp. (NYSE:TRGP)

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Targa Resources Corp. (NYSE:TRGP - Free Report) by 10.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 524,336 shares of the pipeline company's stock after purchasing an additional 48,600 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.24% of Targa Resources worth $77,607,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of TRGP. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Targa Resources by 4.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,106,591 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $2,235,927,000 after buying an additional 633,589 shares during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired a new stake in Targa Resources during the 2nd quarter worth about $72,345,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Targa Resources by 239.1% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 791,095 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $101,877,000 after acquiring an additional 557,832 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $296,647,000 after purchasing an additional 271,444 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in shares of Targa Resources by 75.4% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 604,112 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $89,413,000 after purchasing an additional 259,776 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Julie H. Boushka sold 3,260 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.74, for a total value of $621,812.40. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 35,143 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,703,175.82. This trade represents a 8.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider D. Scott Pryor sold 30,000 shares of Targa Resources stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.33, for a total transaction of $5,709,900.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 82,979 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,793,393.07. This represents a 26.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 183,260 shares of company stock worth $29,661,212 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.39% of the company's stock.

Targa Resources Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE TRGP traded down $2.18 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $181.22. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,282,775 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,656,612. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 2.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.05. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $182.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $153.25. Targa Resources Corp. has a one year low of $81.03 and a one year high of $209.87.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The pipeline company reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.17. Targa Resources had a net margin of 7.65% and a return on equity of 27.59%. The business had revenue of $3.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.24 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.97 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Targa Resources Corp. will post 6.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Targa Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. Targa Resources's payout ratio is presently 54.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on TRGP shares. US Capital Advisors downgraded Targa Resources from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Targa Resources in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $182.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Targa Resources from $173.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Targa Resources from $190.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Targa Resources from $172.00 to $199.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Targa Resources presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $176.14.

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.