Franklin Resources Inc. Purchases 856,007 Shares of Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA)

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA - Free Report) by 6.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,788,607 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 856,007 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 2.15% of Corteva worth $860,746,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Rovin Capital UT ADV raised its stake in shares of Corteva by 1.3% during the third quarter. Rovin Capital UT ADV now owns 12,822 shares of the company's stock worth $754,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its stake in shares of Corteva by 44.4% during the third quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 566 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. increased its holdings in Corteva by 2.2% in the third quarter. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. now owns 8,030 shares of the company's stock valued at $472,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its stake in Corteva by 26.1% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 962 shares of the company's stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the period. Finally, Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in Corteva by 0.4% during the second quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 48,200 shares of the company's stock worth $2,600,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.54% of the company's stock.

Corteva Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CTVA traded up $0.19 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $59.49. The stock had a trading volume of 1,990,129 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,298,174. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The company has a market capitalization of $40.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.77. The company's 50-day moving average price is $59.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.22. Corteva, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $44.01 and a fifty-two week high of $64.20.

Corteva Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Corteva's payout ratio is presently 68.69%.

Corteva declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, November 19th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 7.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup began coverage on Corteva in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. They set a "buy" rating and a $68.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $70.00 target price (up previously from $69.00) on shares of Corteva in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of Corteva in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Corteva from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Corteva from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $65.06.

About Corteva

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.