Handelsbanken Fonder AB Increases Stock Holdings in Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its holdings in shares of Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA) by 30.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 386,028 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 91,163 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned 0.06% of Corteva worth $21,988,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. KBC Group NV grew its stake in Corteva by 267.3% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,120,104 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,851,000 after buying an additional 815,135 shares during the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new stake in Corteva during the 4th quarter worth about $1,514,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Corteva by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,523,996 shares of the company’s stock worth $265,966,000 after acquiring an additional 66,052 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in Corteva by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 9,428,206 shares of the company’s stock worth $537,031,000 after acquiring an additional 525,531 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB lifted its position in Corteva by 51.9% during the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 695,641 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,624,000 after acquiring an additional 237,764 shares during the period. 81.54% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Corteva Price Performance

Shares of Corteva stock opened at $62.75 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. Corteva, Inc. has a twelve month low of $50.01 and a twelve month high of $66.24. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $60.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.82. The firm has a market cap of $43.02 billion, a PE ratio of 48.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.78.

Corteva (NYSE:CTVA) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 5.36% and a return on equity of 7.19%. Sell-side analysts predict that Corteva, Inc. will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Corteva declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, November 19th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 7.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Corteva Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.17 dividend. 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 52.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CTVA has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Corteva from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Corteva from $74.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Corteva from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Corteva from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on Corteva from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Corteva presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.73.

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.