Plato Investment Management Ltd Buys New Shares in Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA)

Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 30,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,763,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Corteva during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Corteva in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Rise Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Corteva by 2,522.2% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 472 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 454 shares in the last quarter. Albion Financial Group UT lifted its position in shares of Corteva by 77.2% during the 1st quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 505 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the period. Finally, Ironwood Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in Corteva by 106.1% in the 1st quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management Inc. now owns 544 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.54% of the company’s stock.

Corteva Trading Down 5.5 %

Shares of NYSE:CTVA traded down $3.10 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $53.00. The company had a trading volume of 5,904,443 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,424,537. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. Corteva, Inc. has a 12 month low of $43.22 and a 12 month high of $58.76. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $53.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $53.83. The stock has a market cap of $36.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 71.01, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.77.

Corteva (NYSE:CTVA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $6.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.15 billion. Corteva had a return on equity of 6.68% and a net margin of 3.32%. The company’s revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.60 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Corteva, Inc. will post 2.78 EPS for the current year.

Corteva Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be issued a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 3rd. This is a positive change from Corteva’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.28%. Corteva’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CTVA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $57.00 price objective (down from $58.00) on shares of Corteva in a report on Friday, April 12th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on shares of Corteva from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price objective on shares of Corteva in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Corteva from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Corteva from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $63.00.

Insider Activity

In other Corteva news, insider Brian Titus sold 12,134 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.65, for a total value of $687,391.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $764,491.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Corteva news, insider Brian Titus sold 12,134 shares of Corteva stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.65, for a total value of $687,391.10. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $764,491.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Cornel B. Fuerer sold 39,736 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.41, for a total transaction of $2,281,243.76. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 126,628 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,269,713.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 83,556 shares of company stock valued at $4,795,016 in the last quarter. Company 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.