Ruffer LLP Sells 156,370 Shares of Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA)

Key Points

• Ruffer LLP reduced its stake in Corteva, Inc. by 19.9%, selling 156,370 shares and retaining a total of 629,548 shares, which now accounts for about 1.5% of its portfolio.
• Corteva announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.17 to $0.18, representing a 1.0% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 43.90%.
• Wall Street analysts are optimistic about Corteva, with several firms raising their price targets, leading to a consensus price target of $79.25 and an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

Ruffer LLP cut its holdings in Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA - Free Report) by 19.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 629,548 shares of the company's stock after selling 156,370 shares during the period. Corteva makes up 1.5% of Ruffer LLP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Ruffer LLP owned 0.09% of Corteva worth $39,617,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Pinney & Scofield Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Corteva in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. LGT Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Corteva during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its position in 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 acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. Richardson Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Corteva during the first quarter worth $37,000. Finally, von Borstel & Associates Inc. bought a new position in Corteva during the first quarter worth $44,000. 81.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Corteva from $84.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Corteva from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Corteva from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Corteva from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Corteva from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $79.50.

Corteva Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CTVA traded down $0.14 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $70.91. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,100,727 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,775,150. Corteva, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $50.78 and a fifty-two week high of $77.41. The company has a market capitalization of $48.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $73.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.46.

Corteva (NYSE:CTVA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $2.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.31. Corteva had a return on equity of 8.83% and a net margin of 8.16%. The company had revenue of $6.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.26 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.83 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Corteva, Inc. will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Corteva Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a $0.18 dividend. This is a positive change from Corteva's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. Corteva's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.46%.

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.