Franklin Resources Inc. Purchases 1,354,418 Shares of Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA)

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA) by 9.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,143,025 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,354,418 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 2.35% of Corteva worth $919,507,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Corteva during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in shares of Corteva in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new position in Corteva in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Corteva during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Corteva during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. 81.54% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on CTVA shares. KeyCorp upped their target price on Corteva from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Corteva from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Corteva to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Corteva from $67.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on Corteva from $74.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Brian Titus sold 26,560 shares of the business’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 sale, the insider now directly owns 11,347 shares in the company, valued at approximately $723,257.78. The trade was a 70.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Corteva Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CTVA opened at $61.08 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.79. Corteva, Inc. has a 52 week low of $50.01 and a 52 week high of $66.24. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $60.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

Corteva (NYSE:CTVA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by ($0.02). Corteva had a net margin of 5.36% and a return on equity of 7.19%. On average, equities analysts predict that Corteva, Inc. will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Corteva Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.11%. Corteva’s dividend payout ratio 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.