Candriam S.C.A. Increases Stake in Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA)

Candriam S.C.A. raised its holdings in shares of Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA) by 14.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 33,520 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,224 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Corteva were worth $1,909,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its holdings in Corteva by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 13,282 shares of the company’s stock valued at $759,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC increased its holdings in Corteva by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 4,521 shares of the company’s stock valued at $258,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Corteva by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,341 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC increased its holdings in Corteva by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 4,514 shares of the company’s stock valued at $257,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Roble Belko & Company Inc increased its holdings in Corteva by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 3,166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $180,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. 81.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Corteva

In related news, insider Brian Titus sold 26,560 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.74, for a total transaction of $1,692,934.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,347 shares in the company, valued at approximately $723,257.78. This represents a 70.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on CTVA. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Corteva from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Corteva from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Corteva to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Corteva from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Corteva from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.79.

Corteva Price Performance

CTVA stock opened at $60.62 on Monday. Corteva, Inc. has a 52 week low of $50.01 and a 52 week high of $66.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $61.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $59.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.79.

Corteva (NYSE:CTVA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.32 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%. Analysts anticipate that Corteva, Inc. will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Corteva declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, November 19th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 7.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Corteva Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.12%. Corteva’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.71%.

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.