Chesley Taft & Associates LLC Trims Position in Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA)

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC reduced its holdings in Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA) by 4.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 32,759 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,375 shares during the period. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s holdings in Corteva were worth $1,866,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Corteva by 3.8% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 117,070 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,315,000 after acquiring an additional 4,255 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Corteva by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,138 shares of the company’s stock valued at $493,000 after purchasing an additional 534 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Corteva by 13.5% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 125,770 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,784,000 after buying an additional 14,968 shares in the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC grew its position in Corteva by 10,695.2% during the second quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 4,534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $245,000 after buying an additional 4,492 shares during the period. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in Corteva by 91,373.1% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 85,070 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,589,000 after buying an additional 84,977 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.54% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on CTVA shares. KeyCorp dropped their target price on Corteva from $69.00 to $68.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Corteva from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 target price (up previously from $69.00) on shares of Corteva in a research report on Friday, November 8th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Corteva from $74.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Corteva from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.59.

Corteva Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of CTVA opened at $63.12 on Wednesday. Corteva, Inc. has a 52-week low of $44.80 and a 52-week high of $64.20. 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $59.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $57.19. The company has a market capitalization of $43.38 billion, a PE ratio of 63.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.77.

Corteva Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Corteva’s payout ratio is currently 68.69%.

Corteva announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, November 19th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 7.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Corteva 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.