Benjamin Edwards Inc. Purchases 128,425 Shares of Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA)

Key Points

• Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its stake in Corteva, Inc. by 23.6%, acquiring an additional 128,425 shares and bringing its total holdings to approximately $42.3 million.
• Analysts have upgraded Corteva's rating, with Morgan Stanley setting a new price target of $71.00 and UBS Group raising it to $91.00, with the consensus price target now at $79.50.
• Corteva announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.17 to $0.18 per share, representing an annual yield of 1.0% and a dividend payout ratio of 41.46%.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its position in Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA - Free Report) by 23.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 671,969 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 128,425 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. owned about 0.10% of Corteva worth $42,287,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CTVA. Allred Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Corteva by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Allred Capital Management LLC now owns 5,447 shares of the company's stock valued at $310,000 after buying an additional 171 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in Corteva by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 9,353 shares of the company's stock worth $589,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. NTV Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Corteva by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. NTV Asset Management LLC now owns 5,457 shares of the company's stock valued at $343,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the period. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in Corteva by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 4,539 shares of the company's stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the period. Finally, PFG Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Corteva by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 12,867 shares of the company's stock valued at $810,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. 81.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CTVA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Corteva from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Corteva from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Corteva from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Corteva in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer set a $87.00 price target on shares of Corteva and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $79.50.

Corteva Stock Performance

CTVA opened at $70.87 on Friday. Corteva, Inc. has a 52-week low of $50.78 and a 52-week high of $77.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.34 billion, a PE ratio of 34.57, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.68. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $73.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.51.

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

Corteva Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This is an increase from Corteva's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. Corteva's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.46%.

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.

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