MetLife Investment Management LLC Lowers Stake in Corteva, Inc. $CTVA

Key Points

• MetLife Investment Management LLC reduced its position in Corteva, Inc. by 2.2%, owning 178,098 shares worth $11.21 million after selling 4,026 shares in the first quarter.
• Corteva announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.17 to $0.18, translating to a 1.0% yield, with payment scheduled for September 15th.
• Analysts have recently raised their price targets for Corteva, with UBS Group setting a new target at $91.00, reflecting a strong "buy" rating from multiple research firms.

MetLife Investment Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA - Free Report) by 2.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 178,098 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,026 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC's holdings in Corteva were worth $11,208,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Corteva by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 3,761 shares of the company's stock valued at $237,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of Corteva by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 9,353 shares of the company's stock valued at $589,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. NTV Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Corteva by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. NTV Asset Management LLC now owns 5,457 shares of the company's stock valued at $343,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Corteva by 4.1% during 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 last quarter. Finally, PFG Investments LLC grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.54% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on CTVA shares. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Corteva from $84.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $83.00 price target (up previously from $82.00) on shares of Corteva in a report on Friday, August 8th. Oppenheimer set a $87.00 price target on shares of Corteva and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Corteva from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Corteva in a report on Monday, August 11th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Corteva currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $80.25.

Corteva Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:CTVA traded down $0.11 on Friday, hitting $74.22. The company had a trading volume of 4,034,989 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,303,558. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $73.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $67.48. Corteva, Inc. has a 1 year low of $53.40 and a 1 year high of $77.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.75.

Corteva (NYSE:CTVA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $2.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.31. Corteva had a net margin of 8.16% and a return on equity of 8.68%. The firm had revenue of $6.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.26 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.83 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Corteva, Inc. will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Corteva Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. This is a positive change from Corteva's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Corteva's dividend payout ratio is 33.17%.

Corteva 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.