Howard Capital Management Inc. Increases Stake in Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA)

Howard Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA) by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,149 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Corteva were worth $293,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Corteva by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 13,282 shares of the company’s stock valued at $759,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC increased its holdings in shares of Corteva by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 4,521 shares of the company’s stock valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Corteva by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,341 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc increased its holdings in shares of Corteva by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 3,166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $180,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rovin Capital UT ADV increased its holdings in shares of Corteva by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Rovin Capital UT ADV now owns 12,822 shares of the company’s stock valued at $754,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.54% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Corteva

In other news, insider Brian Titus sold 26,560 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.74, for a total transaction of $1,692,934.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,347 shares in the company, valued at $723,257.78. This represents a 70.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Corteva Price Performance

Corteva stock opened at $62.96 on Wednesday. Corteva, Inc. has a 12-month low of $50.01 and a 12-month high of $66.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.78. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $60.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

Corteva (NYSE:CTVA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.34 by ($0.02). Corteva had a return on equity of 7.19% and a net margin of 5.36%. Equities analysts predict that Corteva, Inc. will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Corteva declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, November 19th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 7.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Corteva Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.08%. Corteva’s payout ratio is currently 52.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CTVA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Corteva from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Corteva from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Corteva from $67.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group lowered 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. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Corteva from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Corteva currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.73.

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.