Simmons Bank Raises Holdings in Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA)

Simmons Bank grew its holdings in shares of Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA - Free Report) by 351.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,771 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 28,617 shares during the quarter. Simmons Bank's holdings in Corteva were worth $2,314,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital World Investors raised its position in Corteva by 2,874.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 12,812,151 shares of the company's stock worth $729,780,000 after purchasing an additional 12,381,436 shares during the period. Independent Franchise Partners LLP raised its position in Corteva by 51.5% in the 4th quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 16,496,508 shares of the company's stock worth $939,641,000 after purchasing an additional 5,604,838 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Corteva in the 4th quarter worth about $251,892,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Corteva in the 4th quarter worth about $161,052,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Corteva by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,143,025 shares of the company's stock worth $919,507,000 after purchasing an additional 1,354,418 shares during the period. 81.54% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Corteva from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Argus raised shares of Corteva from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $69.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 31st. KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of Corteva from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Corteva in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Corteva in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. They set a "buy" rating and a $71.00 target price on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $72.08.

Corteva Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE CTVA traded up $0.24 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $77.24. 1,419,340 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,406,439. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $70.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $63.95. Corteva, Inc. has a one year low of $50.30 and a one year high of $77.41. The company has a market cap of $52.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.76.

Corteva (NYSE:CTVA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.25. Corteva had a net margin of 6.77% and a return on equity of 7.84%. The firm had revenue of $4.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.56 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.89 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Corteva, Inc. will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Corteva Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. Corteva's dividend payout ratio is presently 41.46%.

Corteva Company 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.