Corteva (NYSE:CTVA) Upgraded at Argus

Argus upgraded shares of Corteva (NYSE:CTVA) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Monday morning, Marketbeat reports. They currently have $69.00 target price on the stock.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on CTVA. Oppenheimer boosted 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. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Corteva in a report on Thursday, March 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $71.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Corteva from $67.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Corteva from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on Corteva from $74.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.06.

Corteva Price Performance

Shares of CTVA stock opened at $64.01 on Monday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $43.72 billion, a PE ratio of 49.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.79. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $62.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.26. Corteva has a 12 month low of $50.01 and a 12 month high of $66.24.

Corteva (NYSE:CTVA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.32 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%. Analysts predict that Corteva will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Corteva Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Corteva’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.71%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Brian Titus sold 26,560 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.74, for a total transaction of $1,692,934.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $723,257.78. This represents a 70.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Corteva

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new stake in Corteva during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,514,000. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in Corteva by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 9,428,206 shares of the company’s stock worth $537,031,000 after acquiring an additional 525,531 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB lifted its position in Corteva by 51.9% in the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 695,641 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,624,000 after acquiring an additional 237,764 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Corteva by 755.8% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 552,769 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,486,000 after acquiring an additional 488,181 shares in the last quarter. Finally, S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Corteva by 54.5% during the fourth quarter. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC now owns 96,103 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,474,000 after purchasing an additional 33,886 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.54% 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.