Principal Securities Inc. Sells 8,666 Shares of Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA)

Principal Securities Inc. lowered its position in shares of Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA - Free Report) by 29.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 21,158 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,666 shares during the quarter. Principal Securities Inc.'s holdings in Corteva were worth $1,205,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Corteva by 2.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 34,290,086 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,015,914,000 after purchasing an additional 768,519 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Corteva by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,703,771 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,037,505,000 after purchasing an additional 355,206 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Corteva by 6.1% in the 3rd 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. Harris Associates L P raised its holdings in Corteva by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 14,362,309 shares of the company's stock valued at $844,360,000 after buying an additional 200,917 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its holdings in Corteva by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,747,791 shares of the company's stock valued at $631,863,000 after buying an additional 203,126 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.54% of the company's stock.

Corteva Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CTVA traded down $1.08 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $62.75. 2,476,698 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,943,916. Corteva, Inc. has a 12-month low of $50.01 and a 12-month high of $66.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The company has a market cap of $43.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.64, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.78. The business's fifty day moving average price is $60.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $58.82.

Corteva (NYSE:CTVA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 7.19% and a net margin of 5.36%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Corteva, Inc. will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Corteva Dividend Announcement

The business 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 $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.08%. Corteva's payout ratio is currently 52.71%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on CTVA shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Corteva from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Corteva from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Corteva from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays lifted their target price on Corteva from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded Corteva to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $67.73.

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.