National Pension Service Decreases Stake in Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA)

National Pension Service lessened its stake in Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA) by 57.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm 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 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CTVA. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in Corteva during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Corteva during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Corteva during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. First Financial Corp IN purchased a new stake in Corteva during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT lifted its stake in Corteva by 112.6% during the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 606 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.54% of the company’s stock.

Corteva Stock Performance

Corteva stock opened at $62.82 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.70, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.78. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $61.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $59.14. Corteva, Inc. has a 52 week low of $50.01 and a 52 week high of $66.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

Corteva (NYSE:CTVA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.32 EPS 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Corteva, Inc. will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Corteva announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 19th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 7.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Corteva Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.08%. Corteva’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Brian Titus sold 26,560 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was 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 owns 11,347 shares in the company, valued at approximately $723,257.78. This trade represents a 70.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Corteva from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Corteva from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Corteva from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays lifted their price target on Corteva from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Corteva from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.73.

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.