Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. Raises Stake in Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA)

Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. increased its stake in shares of Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,154 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 247 shares during the quarter. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Corteva were worth $407,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Corteva in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $251,892,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Corteva during the 4th quarter worth $161,052,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Corteva by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,143,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $919,507,000 after acquiring an additional 1,354,418 shares in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG increased its stake in shares of Corteva by 69.0% during the fourth quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG now owns 2,870,859 shares of the company’s stock worth $163,181,000 after acquiring an additional 1,172,110 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its position in Corteva by 2.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 34,290,086 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,015,914,000 after purchasing an additional 768,519 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.54% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Corteva

In other Corteva news, insider Brian Titus sold 26,560 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $723,257.78. This represents a 70.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Corteva Stock Down 2.2 %

CTVA stock opened at $61.08 on Monday. Corteva, Inc. has a twelve month low of $50.01 and a twelve month high of $66.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The company has a market capitalization of $41.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.35, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.79. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $62.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $60.13.

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

Corteva Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Corteva’s payout ratio is currently 52.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on CTVA shares. Bank of America lifted their price target on Corteva from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. 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. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Corteva from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Corteva from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Corteva to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. One equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.00.

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.