ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Purchases 15,502 Shares of Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. increased its position in shares of Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 740,503 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 15,502 shares during the quarter. Corteva accounts for about 1.7% of ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. owned about 0.11% of Corteva worth $42,179,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Corteva by 3.8% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 117,070 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,315,000 after purchasing an additional 4,255 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Corteva by 20.0% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 14,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $774,000 after buying an additional 2,392 shares during the last quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Corteva during the 2nd quarter worth about $252,000. AE Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Corteva by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,138 shares of the company’s stock valued at $493,000 after acquiring an additional 534 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Corteva by 13.5% in the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 125,770 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,784,000 after acquiring an additional 14,968 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.54% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on CTVA. Barclays raised their price target on Corteva from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. KeyCorp lowered their target price on shares of Corteva from $69.00 to $68.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Corteva from $74.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Corteva from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of Corteva in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Corteva currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $65.47.

Corteva Stock Up 1.1 %

NYSE CTVA opened at $62.30 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The company has a market cap of $42.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.93, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a 50 day moving average of $58.96 and a 200-day moving average of $57.12. Corteva, Inc. has a 1-year low of $44.01 and a 1-year high of $64.20.

Corteva Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.09%. Corteva’s payout ratio is 68.69%.

Corteva announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, November 19th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 7.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Corteva 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.