Merit Financial Group LLC Increases Stock Position in Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA)

Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA - Free Report) by 71.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,212 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 3,849 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Corteva were worth $580,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Corteva during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in shares of Corteva in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Corteva in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. LGT Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Corteva in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Corteva in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.54% of the company's stock.

Corteva Stock Performance

CTVA traded up $0.39 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $71.94. The stock had a trading volume of 706,854 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,301,295. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $64.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.30. Corteva, Inc. has a 1 year low of $50.01 and a 1 year high of $73.00. The stock has a market cap of $49.08 billion, a PE ratio of 55.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

Corteva (NYSE:CTVA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.25. Corteva had a return on equity of 7.19% and a net margin of 5.36%. The firm had revenue of $4.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.56 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.89 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Corteva, Inc. will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Corteva Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd will be paid a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. Corteva's payout ratio is presently 41.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Corteva from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Corteva in a research note on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Corteva in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. They set a "buy" rating and a $71.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup upped their price target on Corteva from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price target on Corteva from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $70.50.

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.