The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Has $25 Million Stake in Corteva, Inc. $CTVA

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its stake in Corteva, Inc. by 31.6%, holding 397,298 shares valued at $25 million as of the latest reporting period.
• Analysts have upgraded Corteva's stock ratings, with a consensus of thirteen "Buy" ratings and an average price target of $80.25.
• Corteva announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.17 to $0.18, resulting in an annual yield of 1.0%.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company decreased its holdings in shares of Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA - Free Report) by 31.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 397,298 shares of the company's stock after selling 183,138 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.06% of Corteva worth $25,000,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Corteva by 4.4% during the first quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 3,761 shares of the company's stock valued at $237,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. NTV Asset Management LLC lifted its position 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 worth $343,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the period. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. lifted its position 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 worth $286,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the period. Finally, PFG Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Corteva by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 12,867 shares of the company's stock worth $810,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. 81.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Corteva Price Performance

Shares of CTVA stock traded down $0.41 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $72.24. 3,173,079 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,798,035. Corteva, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $53.40 and a fifty-two week high of $77.41. 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 stock's fifty day moving average is $73.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $67.72. The company has a market cap of $49.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.78.

Corteva (NYSE:CTVA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $2.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.83 EPS. Corteva's revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Corteva, Inc. will post 2.96 earnings per share 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 35.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Corteva news, EVP Robert D. King sold 37,280 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.20, for a total transaction of $2,766,176.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 49,262 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,655,240.40. The trade was a 43.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CTVA has been the topic of several recent research reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Corteva to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Corteva from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. UBS Group increased their target price on Corteva from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Corteva in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Corteva in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $80.25.

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.