Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA) Shares Purchased by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA) by 6.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,788,607 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 856,007 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Corteva were worth $860,746,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CTVA. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its position in shares of Corteva by 247.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 44,080 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,591,000 after buying an additional 31,411 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Corteva in the 3rd quarter valued at $319,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Corteva by 27.5% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 107,713 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,595,000 after buying an additional 23,251 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp grew its position in shares of Corteva by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 2,077,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $122,107,000 after buying an additional 16,087 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TCW Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Corteva by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 81,477 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,790,000 after buying an additional 1,880 shares during the last quarter. 81.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Corteva Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE CTVA opened at $59.30 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.77. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $59.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $56.22. Corteva, Inc. has a 52 week low of $44.01 and a 52 week high of $64.20.

Corteva Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Corteva’s payout ratio is currently 68.69%.

Corteva declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 19th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 7.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $65.00 price objective on shares of Corteva in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 price objective (up from $69.00) on shares of Corteva in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Corteva from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Corteva from $69.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Corteva from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $65.06.

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.