First Trust Advisors LP Has $14.46 Million Stake in Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA)

First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA - Free Report) by 62.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 253,814 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 97,809 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP's holdings in Corteva were worth $14,457,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Corteva in the third quarter worth $319,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its stake in Corteva by 247.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 44,080 shares of the company's stock worth $2,591,000 after acquiring an additional 31,411 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Corteva by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 14,788,607 shares of the company's stock worth $860,746,000 after acquiring an additional 856,007 shares during the period. 1ST Source Bank grew its stake in Corteva by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. 1ST Source Bank now owns 19,195 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,128,000 after acquiring an additional 367 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Corteva by 6.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,605,608 shares of the company's stock worth $270,764,000 after purchasing an additional 288,885 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.54% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on CTVA. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Corteva from $74.00 to $73.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Corteva from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Argus upgraded Corteva from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $69.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Corteva from $67.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised Corteva to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $68.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Brian Titus sold 26,560 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.74, for a total value of $1,692,934.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,347 shares in the company, valued at approximately $723,257.78. This represents a 70.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Corteva Stock Performance

Corteva stock traded up $0.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $62.30. The company had a trading volume of 620,796 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,318,712. The company has a 50 day moving average of $60.61 and a 200-day moving average of $60.52. Corteva, Inc. has a 52 week low of $50.01 and a 52 week high of $66.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The firm has a market cap of $42.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.27, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.73.

Corteva (NYSE:CTVA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34 by ($0.02). Corteva had a return on equity of 7.19% and a net margin of 5.36%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Corteva, Inc. will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Corteva Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd will be given a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.09%. Corteva's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.71%.

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.