J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Makes New Investment in Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA)

Key Points

• J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG purchased a new position in Corteva, Inc. worth approximately $980,000, acquiring 15,573 shares in the first quarter.
• Corteva recently announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.17 to $0.18, with a dividend yield of 1.0% and a payout ratio of 41.46%.
• Research firms are optimistic about Corteva's stock, with multiple analysts upgrading price targets and giving the company an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a price target of $79.25.

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG bought a new position in Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 15,573 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $980,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Pinney & Scofield Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Corteva during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Corteva by 85.9% during the first quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 526 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. LGT Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Corteva in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Richardson Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Corteva during the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, von Borstel & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Corteva during the first quarter valued at $44,000. Institutional investors own 81.54% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CTVA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Corteva from $74.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Corteva from $76.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Corteva from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Corteva from $72.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Corteva from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $79.25.

Corteva Stock Performance

CTVA stock traded down $1.20 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $71.11. The company had a trading volume of 4,559,866 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,895,959. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $73.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $66.37. Corteva, Inc. has a 1-year low of $50.75 and a 1-year high of $77.41. The firm has a market cap of $48.51 billion, a PE ratio of 25.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.92 by $0.28. Corteva had a return on equity of 7.84% and a net margin of 6.77%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.83 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Corteva, Inc. will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Corteva Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a $0.18 dividend. 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 an increase from Corteva's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Corteva's dividend payout ratio is currently 41.46%.

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.