Morgan Stanley Raises Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) Price Target to $244.00

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP - Free Report) had its price objective boosted by Morgan Stanley from $202.00 to $244.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Marketbeat reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the pipeline company's stock.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on TRGP. US Capital Advisors lowered shares of Targa Resources from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Targa Resources from $220.00 to $221.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Mizuho boosted their price target on Targa Resources from $208.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Targa Resources from $218.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Targa Resources from $190.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Targa Resources currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $211.00.

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Targa Resources Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of Targa Resources stock traded down $2.27 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $197.25. 2,054,808 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,576,867. 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $199.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $182.53. The stock has a market cap of $43.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 2.32. Targa Resources has a fifty-two week low of $109.13 and a fifty-two week high of $218.51.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The pipeline company reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.90 by ($0.46). The company had revenue of $4.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.48 billion. Targa Resources had a net margin of 7.81% and a return on equity of 28.67%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Targa Resources will post 8.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Targa Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 1.52%. Targa Resources's payout ratio is 52.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, 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 transaction of $5,750,856.54. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 227,269 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $43,731,100.98. This represents a 11.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider D. Scott Pryor sold 35,000 shares of Targa Resources stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.30, for a total transaction of $6,905,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 82,139 shares in the company, valued at $16,206,024.70. This trade represents a 29.88 % 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 valued at $22,613,288 over the last 90 days. 1.39% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Targa Resources

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

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.