Corteva, Inc. $CTVA Shares Acquired by Ethic Inc.

Ethic Inc. lifted its position in shares of Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA) by 5.7% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 79,813 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,332 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Corteva were worth $5,937,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Corteva by 0.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 79,814,646 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,022,736,000 after acquiring an additional 639,799 shares during the period. Independent Franchise Partners LLP increased its stake in shares of Corteva by 1.8% during the first quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 16,785,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,056,299,000 after acquiring an additional 288,792 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Corteva by 1.0% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 11,759,755 shares of the company’s stock worth $740,041,000 after buying an additional 110,865 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Corteva during the first quarter worth about $640,333,000. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC grew its position in Corteva by 29.6% during the second quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 9,044,706 shares of the company’s stock worth $672,836,000 after buying an additional 2,066,519 shares during the period. 81.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Corteva in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Corteva from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Corteva from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley set a $84.00 price target on shares of Corteva in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $86.00 price target on shares of Corteva in a research report on Monday, September 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $79.94.

Corteva Stock Performance

Shares of CTVA stock opened at $63.05 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $68.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $68.93. Corteva, Inc. has a 52 week low of $53.40 and a 52 week high of $77.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The company has a market cap of $42.82 billion, a PE ratio of 30.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.76.

Corteva (NYSE:CTVA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $2.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.31. Corteva had a net margin of 8.16% and a return on equity of 8.68%. The business had revenue of $6.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.83 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Corteva, Inc. will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Corteva Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 2nd. This is a positive change from Corteva’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Corteva’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Robert D. King sold 37,280 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.20, for a total transaction of $2,766,176.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 49,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,655,240.40. This trade represents a 43.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Corteva Profile

Corteva, Inc operates in the agriculture business. It operates through two segments, Seed and Crop Protection. The Seed segment develops and supplies advanced germplasm and traits that produce optimum yield for farms. It offers trait technologies that enhance resistance to weather, disease, insects, and herbicides used to control weeds, as well as food and nutritional characteristics.