Corteva, Inc. $CTVA Position Raised by Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC

Key Points

• Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its holdings in Corteva, Inc. by 101.5%, acquiring an additional 41,390 shares, bringing their total to 82,153 shares valued at approximately $5.17 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Cary Street Partners and Brighton Jones LLC, also boosted their stakes in Corteva, indicating strong institutional interest with hedge funds owning 81.54% of the company’s stock.
• Corteva reported a 5.6% year-over-year increase in revenue with earnings per share of $2.20, exceeding analyst expectations, and also announced an increase in its dividend to $0.18 per share.

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA - Free Report) by 101.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 82,153 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 41,390 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's holdings in Corteva were worth $5,170,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CTVA. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in Corteva by 1.9% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 9,353 shares of the company's stock worth $589,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the period. NTV Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Corteva by 3.3% in the first quarter. NTV Asset Management LLC now owns 5,457 shares of the company's stock worth $343,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. boosted its position in shares of Corteva by 4.1% in the first quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 4,539 shares of the company's stock worth $286,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC grew its holdings in Corteva by 1.4% in the first 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 period. Finally, Legacy Advisors LLC increased its position in Corteva by 2.2% during the first quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 8,697 shares of the company's stock worth $547,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. 81.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CTVA. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Corteva from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Corteva from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Oppenheimer set a $87.00 price target on Corteva and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Zacks Research upgraded Corteva to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Corteva from $74.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $80.25.

Corteva Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of CTVA traded up $0.0190 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $72.9790. The company had a trading volume of 1,456,942 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,778,479. The stock has a market cap of $49.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.62, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.75. The company's 50 day moving average price is $73.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.93. 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 52 week low of $53.40 and a 52 week high of $77.41.

Corteva (NYSE:CTVA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $2.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $6.46 billion during 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%.During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.83 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research 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 dividend yield of 1.0%. This is a positive change from Corteva's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. Corteva's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.