Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI Makes New $32.95 Million Investment in Corteva, Inc. $CTVA

Key Points

• Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired over 523,000 shares of Corteva, Inc., valued at approximately $32.9 million, during the first quarter, enhancing its stake to around 0.08% of the company's total shares.
• Research analysts provided mixed ratings on Corteva, with BMO Capital Markets raising the price target to $86.00 and Zacks Research upgrading it to a "hold," while Citigroup downgraded it to a "mixed" rating.
• Corteva announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.18, scheduled for payment on September 15, 2023, marking a positive change from the previous dividend of $0.17.

Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new stake in Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 523,525 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $32,945,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI owned approximately 0.08% of Corteva as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CTVA. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Corteva in the first quarter valued at approximately $640,333,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Corteva by 54.6% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,009,038 shares of the company's stock valued at $315,219,000 after acquiring an additional 1,769,355 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Corteva by 65.8% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,251,449 shares of the company's stock valued at $204,615,000 after acquiring an additional 1,290,009 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Corteva by 7,135.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 947,789 shares of the company's stock worth $59,644,000 after purchasing an additional 934,690 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 639,799 shares during the last quarter. 81.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Corteva Stock Up 2.8%

Shares of NYSE:CTVA traded up $2.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $75.07. 6,598,066 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,369,057. The firm has a market cap of $50.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.62, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.78. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $73.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $68.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.68. Corteva, Inc. has a 52-week low of $53.40 and a 52-week high of $77.41.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $6.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.26 billion. Corteva had a net margin of 8.16% and a return on equity of 8.68%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.83 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Corteva, Inc. will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Corteva Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend 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 payout ratio is currently 35.12%.

Insider Transactions at Corteva

In other Corteva news, EVP Robert D. King sold 37,280 shares of Corteva stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 49,262 shares in the company, valued at $3,655,240.40. The trade was a 43.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CTVA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded Corteva to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. KeyCorp upped their target price on Corteva from $84.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Corteva in a report on Monday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen raised Corteva from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Corteva in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.