Clearbridge Investments LLC Grows Position in Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA)

Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA) by 8.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,765,829 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 141,145 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned 0.26% of Corteva worth $100,582,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Corteva in the 4th quarter valued at about $251,892,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Corteva in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $161,052,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Corteva by 6.1% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 14,788,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $860,746,000 after buying an additional 856,007 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Corteva by 2.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 34,290,086 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,015,914,000 after buying an additional 768,519 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Corteva by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 79,174,847 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,509,799,000 after buying an additional 646,459 shares in the last quarter. 81.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Corteva Stock Performance

NYSE CTVA opened at $62.96 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $43.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.79. Corteva, Inc. has a 1-year low of $50.01 and a 1-year high of $66.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $62.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $60.19.

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

Corteva Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Corteva’s payout ratio is currently 52.71%.

Insider Activity at Corteva

In related news, insider Brian Titus sold 26,560 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.74, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 70.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. BNP Paribas upgraded Corteva to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Argus upgraded shares of Corteva from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $69.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Corteva from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Corteva from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Corteva from $67.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.06.

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.