First Business Financial Services Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA)

First Business Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 42,064 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,714 shares during the quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Corteva were worth $2,396,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in Corteva in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in Corteva during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Corteva during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Corteva during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, First Financial Corp IN acquired a new position in Corteva during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.54% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Brian Titus sold 26,560 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.74, for a total transaction of $1,692,934.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $723,257.78. This trade represents a 70.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CTVA has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays boosted their price target on Corteva from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Corteva from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Corteva from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Corteva from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Corteva from $67.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.79.

Corteva Price Performance

Shares of CTVA opened at $61.17 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $41.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.42, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.79. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $61.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $59.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 0.93. Corteva, Inc. has a 12 month low of $50.01 and a 12 month high of $66.24.

Corteva (NYSE:CTVA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by ($0.02). Corteva had a return on equity of 7.19% and a net margin of 5.36%. On average, research analysts forecast that Corteva, Inc. will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Corteva declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, November 19th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 7.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Corteva Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.11%. Corteva’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.71%.

Corteva Company 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.