Ascent Group LLC Makes New Investment in Corteva, Inc. $CTVA

Ascent Group LLC bought a new stake in Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 5,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $422,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in CTVA. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Corteva in the second quarter worth approximately $222,000. Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Corteva by 27.9% in the second quarter. Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC now owns 6,871 shares of the company’s stock worth $512,000 after acquiring an additional 1,500 shares during the last quarter. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Corteva by 132.2% in the second quarter. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. now owns 527 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Corteva by 0.3% in the second quarter. Exchange Capital Management Inc. now owns 56,901 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,241,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Finally, Hilltop National Bank bought a new position in Corteva in the second quarter worth $103,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.54% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CTVA has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays upgraded Corteva from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $75.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Citigroup lowered Corteva from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $83.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Corteva from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $67.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Corteva from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on Corteva from $91.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Corteva presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Robert D. King sold 37,280 shares of Corteva stock in a transaction on Friday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.20, for a total transaction of $2,766,176.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 49,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,655,240.40. This trade represents a 43.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Corteva Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of Corteva stock opened at $65.56 on Wednesday. Corteva, Inc. has a 52 week low of $53.40 and a 52 week high of $77.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.68. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $70.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $68.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.52 billion, a PE ratio of 31.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.76.

Corteva (NYSE:CTVA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $2.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.31. Corteva had a return on equity of 8.68% and a net margin of 8.16%.The company had revenue of $6.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.83 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Corteva, Inc. will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Corteva Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were issued a $0.18 dividend. This is a boost from Corteva’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 2nd. Corteva’s dividend payout ratio is 35.12%.

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.