Empirical Asset Management LLC Takes Position in Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA)

Empirical Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 41,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,392,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CTVA. Anomaly Capital Management LP bought a new position in Corteva in the 2nd quarter valued at $188,578,000. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in shares of Corteva in the third quarter worth about $99,869,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew 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 worth $860,746,000 after purchasing an additional 856,007 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in Corteva by 370.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,074,361 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,951,000 after buying an additional 846,065 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its position in Corteva by 267.3% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,120,104 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,851,000 after buying an additional 815,135 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.54% of the company’s stock.

Corteva Trading Up 1.1 %

Corteva stock opened at $62.30 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.50. The stock has a market cap of $42.82 billion, a PE ratio of 62.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.77. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $58.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $56.99. Corteva, Inc. has a one year low of $44.01 and a one year high of $64.20.

Corteva Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.09%. Corteva’s payout ratio is 68.69%.

Corteva announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program 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 programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CTVA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 price target (up previously from $69.00) on shares of Corteva in a research note on Friday, November 8th. KeyCorp decreased their target price on Corteva from $69.00 to $68.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Corteva from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Corteva from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Corteva from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $65.47.

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.