Bayforest Capital Ltd Buys New Position in Corteva, Inc. $CTVA

Key Points

• Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired 7,997 shares of Corteva, Inc. ($CTVA), valued at approximately $503,000, marking a new investment position in the company.
• Corteva recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.17 to $0.18 per share, reflecting a dividend yield of 1.0% and a payout ratio of 35.12%.
• Analysts show a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Corteva, with an average target price of $80.25, indicating positive market sentiment.

Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 7,997 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $503,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Corteva by 20.7% during the first quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC now owns 90,206 shares of the company's stock worth $5,677,000 after purchasing an additional 15,448 shares in the last quarter. Scissortail Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Corteva by 72,080.0% in the fourth quarter. Scissortail Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,609 shares of the company's stock valued at $206,000 after acquiring an additional 3,604 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in Corteva by 11.8% during the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 15,313 shares of the company's stock worth $945,000 after purchasing an additional 1,614 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in Corteva by 2.1% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 4,174,351 shares of the company's stock worth $262,692,000 after purchasing an additional 84,506 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Corteva by 307.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 15,588 shares of the company's stock worth $888,000 after acquiring an additional 11,760 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.54% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Robert D. King sold 37,280 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.20, for a total transaction of $2,766,176.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 49,262 shares in the company, valued at $3,655,240.40. This represents a 43.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Corteva in a report on Friday, June 6th. Citigroup cut Corteva from a "neutral" rating to a "mixed" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Corteva from $74.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Corteva from $84.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Corteva to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $80.25.

Corteva Stock Up 2.8%

Shares of CTVA traded up $2.08 during trading on Friday, reaching $75.07. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,598,066 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,369,057. The company has a fifty day moving average of $73.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $68.11. Corteva, Inc. has a twelve month low of $53.40 and a twelve month high of $77.41. The company has a market cap of $50.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Corteva (NYSE:CTVA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $2.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.31. Corteva had a return on equity of 8.68% and a net margin of 8.16%.The company had revenue of $6.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.83 EPS. Corteva's quarterly revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Corteva, Inc. will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Corteva Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. This is an increase from Corteva's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Corteva's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.12%.

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.