HighTower Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Position in Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA)

HighTower Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA) by 0.8% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 157,714 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,202 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Corteva were worth $9,266,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CTVA. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Corteva by 7.8% during the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 25,009 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,349,000 after acquiring an additional 1,803 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank increased its position in shares of Corteva by 7.6% during the 2nd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 132,816 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,164,000 after purchasing an additional 9,337 shares during the last quarter. Cooper Financial Group lifted its stake in shares of Corteva by 19.7% in the 2nd quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 14,854 shares of the company’s stock worth $801,000 after purchasing an additional 2,440 shares during the period. Meyer Handelman Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Corteva by 2.2% in the second quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 47,395 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,556,000 after buying an additional 1,035 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversified Trust Co grew its position in Corteva by 2.3% during the second quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 21,365 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,152,000 after buying an additional 477 shares during the period. 81.54% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Corteva from $69.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Corteva from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of Corteva in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Citigroup started coverage on Corteva in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price objective for the company. Finally, KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Corteva from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Corteva currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.06.

Corteva Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of CTVA stock opened at $59.49 on Monday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $40.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.77. Corteva, Inc. has a 12-month low of $44.01 and a 12-month high of $64.20. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $59.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.12.

Corteva announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, November 19th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 7.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Corteva Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.14%. Corteva’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.69%.

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.