Dearborn Partners LLC Makes New Investment in Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA)

Dearborn Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 6,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $360,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Corteva by 12.5% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 96,151 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,919,000 after buying an additional 10,711 shares during the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Corteva by 9.2% in the third quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 15,125 shares of the company’s stock valued at $774,000 after purchasing an additional 1,271 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Corteva by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,232 shares of the company’s stock valued at $299,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Corteva by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 20,848 shares of the company’s stock valued at $999,000 after purchasing an additional 729 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its stake in Corteva by 57.2% during the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 786 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 286 shares during the period. 81.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on CTVA shares. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Corteva from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Corteva from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $57.00 target price (down previously from $58.00) on shares of Corteva in a report on Friday, April 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of Corteva in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Corteva from $61.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $63.00.

Corteva Stock Performance

CTVA traded up $0.58 during trading on Thursday, hitting $56.12. The stock had a trading volume of 864,069 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,473,256. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 70.30, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.77. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $54.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $53.27. Corteva, Inc. has a twelve month low of $43.22 and a twelve month high of $58.76.

Corteva (NYSE:CTVA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $4.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.65 billion. Corteva had a net margin of 3.32% and a return on equity of 6.68%. Corteva’s revenue was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.16 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Corteva, Inc. will post 2.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Corteva Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 4th were paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 4th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.14%. Corteva’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.01%.

Insider Transactions at Corteva

In other news, SVP Cornel B. Fuerer sold 39,736 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.41, for a total transaction of $2,281,243.76. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 126,628 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,269,713.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Samuel R. Eathington sold 31,686 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.64, for a total value of $1,826,381.04. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 53,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,104,144.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Cornel B. Fuerer sold 39,736 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.41, for a total transaction of $2,281,243.76. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 126,628 shares in the company, valued at $7,269,713.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 83,556 shares of company stock valued at $4,795,016 in the last ninety days. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.