Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Cuts Stake in Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lowered its position in shares of Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA) by 6.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,351 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,662 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Corteva were worth $2,128,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Corteva in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in shares of Corteva in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new stake in Corteva during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Corteva during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Corteva in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.54% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Brian Titus sold 26,560 shares of Corteva stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.74, for a total value of $1,692,934.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,347 shares in the company, valued at $723,257.78. This trade represents a 70.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CTVA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Corteva from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Corteva from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Corteva in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $71.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Corteva from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Corteva from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.00.

Corteva Stock Performance

Shares of CTVA opened at $61.86 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.45. The company has a market capitalization of $42.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.95, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.79. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $62.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.81. Corteva, Inc. has a 1 year low of $50.01 and a 1 year high of $66.24.

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

Corteva Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Corteva’s payout ratio is 52.71%.

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.