Ethic Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Corteva, Inc. $CTVA

Key Points

• Ethic Inc. increased its shareholding in Corteva, Inc. by 5.7%, owning a total of 79,813 shares worth approximately $5.94 million.
• Corteva reported strong quarterly earnings, with earnings per share of $2.20, exceeding analysts' estimates by $0.31, alongside revenue of $6.46 billion.
• The company recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.18 per share, up from $0.17, marking a 1.1% dividend yield for investors.

Ethic Inc. lifted its position in shares of Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA - Free Report) by 5.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 79,813 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 4,332 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Corteva were worth $5,937,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Corteva by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 79,814,646 shares of the company's stock worth $5,022,736,000 after buying an additional 639,799 shares during the last quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP increased its holdings in Corteva by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 16,785,300 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,056,299,000 after purchasing an additional 288,792 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Corteva by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 11,759,755 shares of the company's stock valued at $740,041,000 after purchasing an additional 110,865 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Corteva in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $640,333,000. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Corteva by 29.6% in the second quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 9,044,706 shares of the company's stock worth $672,836,000 after acquiring an additional 2,066,519 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.54% of the company's stock.

Corteva Price Performance

Shares of CTVA opened at $63.05 on Thursday. 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 $42.82 billion, a PE ratio of 30.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $68.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.93.

Corteva (NYSE:CTVA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $2.20 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $6.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.83 earnings per share. Corteva's quarterly revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Corteva, Inc. will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Corteva Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were issued 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 dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 2nd. Corteva's dividend payout ratio is 35.12%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Robert D. King sold 37,280 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 49,262 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,655,240.40. This trade represents a 43.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on CTVA shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Corteva from $83.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. BMO Capital Markets set a $86.00 price target on shares of Corteva in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Corteva from $86.00 to $80.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Corteva from $85.00 to $78.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on shares of Corteva from $87.00 to $75.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $79.94.

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.

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