Franklin Resources Inc. Buys 1,354,418 Shares of Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA)

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA - Free Report) by 9.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,143,025 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,354,418 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 2.35% of Corteva worth $919,507,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new position in Corteva in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,514,000. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of Corteva by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 9,428,206 shares of the company's stock valued at $537,031,000 after purchasing an additional 525,531 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its position in shares of Corteva by 51.9% during the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 695,641 shares of the company's stock worth $39,624,000 after buying an additional 237,764 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Corteva by 755.8% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 552,769 shares of the company's stock worth $31,486,000 after buying an additional 488,181 shares during the last quarter. Finally, S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC lifted its holdings in Corteva by 54.5% in the fourth quarter. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC now owns 96,103 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,474,000 after buying an additional 33,886 shares during the period. 81.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Corteva Stock Down 7.4 %

CTVA traded down $4.52 during trading on Friday, hitting $56.78. The company had a trading volume of 2,275,341 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,226,273. The company has a market capitalization of $38.78 billion, a PE ratio of 44.08, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. Corteva, Inc. has a one year low of $50.01 and a one year high of $66.24. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $62.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $60.27.

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

Corteva Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Corteva's dividend payout ratio is currently 52.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on CTVA. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Corteva in a report on Thursday, March 13th. They set a "buy" rating and a $71.00 target price for the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on Corteva from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. KeyCorp upped their price objective on Corteva from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America raised their target price on Corteva from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Argus raised Corteva from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $69.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Corteva presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $68.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Brian Titus sold 26,560 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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. The trade was a 70.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.