Essex LLC Sells 419 Shares of Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA)

Essex LLC reduced its holdings in Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA) by 3.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,399 shares of the company’s stock after selling 419 shares during the quarter. Essex LLC’s holdings in Corteva were worth $706,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in Corteva in the third quarter worth $99,869,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Corteva by 6.1% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 14,788,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $860,746,000 after buying an additional 856,007 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its position in Corteva by 267.3% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,120,104 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,851,000 after buying an additional 815,135 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Corteva by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 34,290,086 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,015,914,000 after acquiring an additional 768,519 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Corteva by 176.0% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 934,748 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,954,000 after acquiring an additional 596,073 shares during the last quarter. 81.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Corteva Stock Performance

CTVA stock opened at $62.32 on Friday. Corteva, Inc. has a 1-year low of $50.01 and a 1-year high of $66.24. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $60.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $58.19. The firm has a market cap of $42.83 billion, a PE ratio of 48.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

Corteva (NYSE:CTVA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.34 by ($0.02). Corteva had a net margin of 5.36% and a return on equity of 7.19%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Corteva, Inc. will post 2.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Corteva declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, November 19th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 7.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Corteva Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Corteva’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on CTVA shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Corteva from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Citigroup boosted their target price on Corteva from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. KeyCorp raised their price target on Corteva from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Corteva from $74.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Corteva from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.31.

About Corteva

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.