Empirical Asset Management LLC Invests $2.39 Million in Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA)

Empirical Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 41,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,392,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CTVA. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 768,519 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Corteva by 2.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,703,771 shares of the company's stock worth $1,037,505,000 after acquiring an additional 355,206 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Corteva by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 14,788,607 shares of the company's stock worth $860,746,000 after acquiring an additional 856,007 shares in the last quarter. Harris Associates L P increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 200,917 shares in 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 worth $631,863,000 after purchasing an additional 203,126 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 traded up $0.67 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $62.30. 2,621,574 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,673,748. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $58.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $57.06. Corteva, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $44.01 and a fifty-two week high of $64.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.93, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.77.

Corteva Announces Dividend

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

Corteva declared that its board has authorized a share 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CTVA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group cut their price objective on Corteva from $74.00 to $73.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Corteva from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Corteva from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Corteva from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, KeyCorp cut their price objective on Corteva from $69.00 to $68.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $65.47.

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.