Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. Trims Holdings in Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA)

Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. cut its holdings in Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA) by 23.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 457,513 shares of the company’s stock after selling 137,676 shares during the quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc.’s holdings in Corteva were worth $26,060,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CTVA. State Street Corp grew its position in Corteva by 2.3% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Corteva by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,703,771 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,037,505,000 after purchasing an additional 355,206 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Corteva by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 14,788,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $860,746,000 after purchasing an additional 856,007 shares during the last quarter. Harris Associates L P grew its position in Corteva by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 14,362,309 shares of the company’s stock valued at $844,360,000 after purchasing an additional 200,917 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its position in Corteva by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,747,791 shares of the company’s stock valued at $631,863,000 after purchasing an additional 203,126 shares during the last quarter. 81.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Corteva from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. 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. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Corteva in a report on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating and a $71.00 price target on the stock. BNP Paribas raised shares of Corteva to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Corteva from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.00.

Corteva Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CTVA opened at $59.90 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $61.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.71. Corteva, Inc. has a twelve month low of $50.01 and a twelve month high of $66.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.06 billion, a PE ratio of 46.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.79.

Corteva (NYSE:CTVA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.32 EPS 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Corteva, Inc. will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Corteva Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Corteva’s payout ratio is 52.71%.

Corteva announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 19th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 7.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Corteva news, insider Brian Titus sold 26,560 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider now owns 11,347 shares in the company, valued at approximately $723,257.78. This trade represents a 70.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.