Royal Bank of Canada Reduces Position in Corteva, Inc. $CTVA

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada reduced its stake in Corteva, Inc. by 14.4% during the first quarter, now holding approximately $160.92 million worth of shares.
• Following the quarterly earnings report, Corteva's dividend was increased from $0.17 to $0.18 per share, representing an annualized yield of 1.0%.
• Many analysts have rated Corteva with a consensus of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $80.25, with 13 analysts issuing a Buy rating.

Royal Bank of Canada cut its stake in Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA - Free Report) by 14.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,557,089 shares of the company's stock after selling 429,226 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned approximately 0.37% of Corteva worth $160,917,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Corteva by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 3,761 shares of the company's stock valued at $237,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in shares of Corteva by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 9,353 shares of the company's stock valued at $589,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. NTV Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Corteva by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. NTV Asset Management LLC now owns 5,457 shares of the company's stock valued at $343,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Corteva by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 4,539 shares of the company's stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PFG Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Corteva by 1.4% in the 1st 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 last quarter. 81.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer set a $87.00 target price on Corteva and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. UBS Group increased their target price on Corteva from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Zacks Research raised Corteva to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. KeyCorp increased their target price on Corteva from $84.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $83.00 target price (up previously from $82.00) on shares of Corteva in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Corteva has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $80.25.

Corteva Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of CTVA traded down $0.25 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $72.06. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,444,270 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,783,864. Corteva, Inc. has a 12-month low of $53.40 and a 12-month high of $77.41. The stock has a market cap of $48.93 billion, a PE ratio of 35.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.78. 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 company's 50 day moving average is $73.34 and its 200 day moving average is $67.83.

Corteva (NYSE:CTVA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $2.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.31. Corteva had a return on equity of 8.68% and a net margin of 8.16%.The business had revenue of $6.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.83 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Corteva, Inc. will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Corteva Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. This is an increase from Corteva's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Corteva's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.12%.

Insider Activity at Corteva

In other news, EVP Robert D. King sold 37,280 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.20, for a total value of $2,766,176.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 49,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,655,240.40. This represents a 43.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.15% of the company's stock.

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.