Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Purchases 74,645 Shares of Corteva, Inc. $CTVA

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Corteva, acquiring 74,645 additional shares, bringing its total ownership to 4,868,731 shares, valued at approximately $306 million.
• Corteva recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.18, an increase from the previous dividend of $0.17, reflecting a positive change in its payout policy.
• Analysts are optimistic about Corteva, with multiple firms upgrading their ratings and increasing target prices, resulting in a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $80.25.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA - Free Report) by 1.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,868,731 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 74,645 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 0.71% of Corteva worth $306,316,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new stake in Corteva in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its position in Corteva by 85.9% in the 1st quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 526 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. LGT Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Corteva in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Richardson Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Corteva in the 1st quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, von Borstel & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Corteva in the 1st quarter valued at about $44,000. 81.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on CTVA shares. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $83.00 price target (up previously from $82.00) on shares of Corteva in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Corteva in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Zacks Research upgraded Corteva to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Corteva from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Corteva in a research note on Friday, June 6th. 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 MarketBeat, Corteva currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $80.25.

Corteva Stock Performance

Corteva stock traded up $0.23 during trading on Friday, hitting $73.21. The stock had a trading volume of 563,455 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,767,753. The stock's 50 day moving average is $73.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.99. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $53.40 and a 1 year high of $77.41. The stock has a market cap of $49.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.75.

Corteva (NYSE:CTVA - Get Free Report) last issued 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 net margin of 8.16% and a return on equity of 8.68%. The business had revenue of $6.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.83 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Corteva, Inc. will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Corteva Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. This is a positive change from Corteva's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Corteva's payout ratio is presently 35.12%.

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.