Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Lowers Holdings in Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. decreased its holdings in Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA) by 7.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,485,028 shares of the company’s stock after selling 203,296 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Corteva were worth $134,042,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of Corteva by 2.6% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 26,437,457 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,524,648,000 after purchasing an additional 678,722 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Corteva by 19.3% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 13,236,504 shares of the company’s stock valued at $634,293,000 after purchasing an additional 2,141,428 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Corteva by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 12,815,795 shares of the company’s stock valued at $614,133,000 after purchasing an additional 310,012 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of Corteva by 7.2% in the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 9,145,282 shares of the company’s stock valued at $527,409,000 after purchasing an additional 617,030 shares during the period. Finally, Harris Associates L P boosted its stake in shares of Corteva by 87.1% in the fourth quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 9,011,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $431,841,000 after purchasing an additional 4,194,981 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.54% of the company’s stock.

Corteva Stock Performance

Shares of Corteva stock traded up $1.04 during trading on Friday, reaching $53.80. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,926,133 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,371,955. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $52.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $54.37. The firm has a market cap of $37.50 billion, a PE ratio of 68.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.77. Corteva, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $43.22 and a fifty-two week high of $58.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

Corteva (NYSE:CTVA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $6.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.15 billion. Corteva had a net margin of 5.31% and a return on equity of 7.30%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.60 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Corteva, Inc. will post 2.73 EPS for the current year.

Corteva Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be issued a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.26%. This is a boost from Corteva’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 3rd. Corteva’s payout ratio is presently 86.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CTVA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Argus lowered shares of Corteva from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on shares of Corteva from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Corteva from $57.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. KeyCorp decreased their price target on shares of Corteva from $66.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Corteva from $61.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.67.

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.