National Pension Service Cuts Position in Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA)

National Pension Service decreased its holdings in Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA - Free Report) by 57.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 908,902 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,228,923 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned 0.13% of Corteva worth $51,771,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CTVA. KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of Corteva by 267.3% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,120,104 shares of the company's stock worth $65,851,000 after purchasing an additional 815,135 shares in the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new stake in Corteva during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,514,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Corteva by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,523,996 shares of the company's stock valued at $265,966,000 after buying an additional 66,052 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings 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 worth $537,031,000 after acquiring an additional 525,531 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB boosted its position in shares of Corteva by 51.9% during the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 695,641 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,624,000 after buying an additional 237,764 shares during the period. 81.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Corteva

In other news, insider Brian Titus sold 26,560 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,347 shares of the company's stock, valued at $723,257.78. This trade represents a 70.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on CTVA shares. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Corteva from $74.00 to $73.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. BNP Paribas raised Corteva to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Corteva from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Corteva from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Corteva from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Corteva currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $67.79.

Corteva Stock Down 4.0 %

CTVA stock traded down $2.53 during trading on Monday, hitting $60.28. 4,469,220 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,551,787. 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $61.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $59.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.73, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.78. Corteva, Inc. has a 52-week low of $50.01 and a 52-week high of $66.24.

Corteva (NYSE:CTVA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share 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, equities research analysts expect that Corteva, Inc. will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

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

Corteva Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Corteva's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.71%.

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.