First Manhattan CO. LLC. Sells 901 Shares of Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA)

First Manhattan CO. LLC. trimmed its stake in Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 19,436 shares of the company’s stock after selling 901 shares during the period. First Manhattan CO. LLC.’s holdings in Corteva were worth $1,107,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of Corteva by 2,874.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 12,812,151 shares of the company’s stock worth $729,780,000 after purchasing an additional 12,381,436 shares in the last quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP boosted its stake in Corteva by 51.5% during the fourth quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 16,496,508 shares of the company’s stock worth $939,641,000 after buying an additional 5,604,838 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Corteva in the 4th quarter valued at $251,892,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Corteva in the 4th quarter valued at $161,052,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Corteva by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,143,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $919,507,000 after acquiring an additional 1,354,418 shares during the period. 81.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Corteva Price Performance

NYSE CTVA opened at $67.70 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $60.87 and its 200-day moving average is $60.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The company has a market capitalization of $46.24 billion, a PE ratio of 52.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.72. Corteva, Inc. has a 12-month low of $50.01 and a 12-month high of $68.07.

Corteva (NYSE:CTVA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.25. Corteva had a net margin of 5.36% and a return on equity of 7.19%. The firm had revenue of $4.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.89 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Corteva, Inc. will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Corteva Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. Corteva’s payout ratio is presently 41.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on CTVA. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Corteva from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Bank of America upped their price target on Corteva from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Argus raised Corteva from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $69.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, March 31st. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Corteva from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of Corteva to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.64.

Insider Activity at Corteva

In related news, insider Brian Titus sold 26,560 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.74, for a total value of $1,692,934.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,347 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

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.