Mizuho Securities USA LLC Cuts Holdings in Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA)

Key Points

• Mizuho Securities USA LLC reduced its stake in Corteva, Inc. by 15.7%, selling 10,248 shares and now holds 54,892 shares valued at $3,454,000.
• Corteva recently declared an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.18 per share, representing an annualized yield of 1.0% and marking a rise from the previous dividend of $0.17.
• Analysts have generally upgraded Corteva's stock ratings, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a price target increase to $79.50 from various financial institutions.

Mizuho Securities USA LLC decreased its position in shares of Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA - Free Report) by 15.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 54,892 shares of the company's stock after selling 10,248 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC's holdings in Corteva were worth $3,454,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Corteva by 0.8% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP boosted its position in shares of Corteva by 51.5% during the 4th quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 16,496,508 shares of the company's stock worth $939,641,000 after acquiring an additional 5,604,838 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of Corteva by 2,874.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 12,812,151 shares of the company's stock valued at $729,780,000 after purchasing an additional 12,381,436 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Corteva by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 11,648,890 shares of the company's stock valued at $663,521,000 after purchasing an additional 608,898 shares during the period. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Corteva by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 6,978,187 shares of the company's stock worth $426,088,000 after acquiring an additional 98,770 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.54% of the company's stock.

Corteva Price Performance

NYSE:CTVA traded down $0.16 on Friday, hitting $71.71. The company had a trading volume of 715,676 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,799,356. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.00, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $73.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.74. Corteva, Inc. has a 52 week low of $52.59 and a 52 week high of $77.41.

Corteva (NYSE:CTVA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $2.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 prior year, the company posted $1.83 EPS. The company's revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Corteva, Inc. will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Corteva Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors 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%. This is a boost from Corteva's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. Corteva's dividend payout ratio is 33.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $83.00 price objective (up from $82.00) on shares of Corteva in a research report on Friday, August 8th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Corteva from $84.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Corteva in a report on Monday. UBS Group raised their price objective on Corteva from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Corteva from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $80.25.

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.