Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich Lowers Holdings in Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA)

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich reduced its stake in Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA) by 5.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 169,169 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,014 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich’s holdings in Corteva were worth $10,077,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Corteva during the 4th quarter valued at about $161,052,000. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new stake in shares of Corteva during the third quarter valued at approximately $99,869,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Corteva by 6.1% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 14,788,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $860,746,000 after acquiring an additional 856,007 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Corteva by 267.3% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,120,104 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,851,000 after acquiring an additional 815,135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its position in Corteva by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 34,290,086 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,015,914,000 after acquiring an additional 768,519 shares in the last quarter. 81.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Corteva Stock Performance

NYSE:CTVA opened at $60.62 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 stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $61.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $59.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.56 billion, a PE ratio of 46.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.79. Corteva, Inc. has a 52-week low of $50.01 and a 52-week high of $66.24.

Corteva (NYSE:CTVA) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. Analysts forecast that Corteva, Inc. will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

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

Corteva Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given 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 1.12%. Corteva’s payout ratio is 52.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Brian Titus sold 26,560 shares of Corteva stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.74, for a total transaction of $1,692,934.40. Following the sale, the insider now owns 11,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $723,257.78. This trade represents a 70.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on CTVA. UBS Group reduced their target price on Corteva from $74.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. BNP Paribas raised Corteva to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Corteva from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Corteva from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. 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 report on Tuesday, February 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.79.

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.