Merit Financial Group LLC Has $305,000 Stock Holdings in Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA)

Merit Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA) by 55.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,363 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,922 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Corteva were worth $305,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its position in Corteva by 44.4% in the third quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 566 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. First Financial Corp IN acquired a new stake in shares of Corteva in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Bangor Savings Bank raised its holdings in Corteva by 34.7% during the third quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 935 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in Corteva during the third quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Finally, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. grew its stake in Corteva by 26.1% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 962 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. 81.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Corteva Price Performance

NYSE:CTVA opened at $63.96 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.50. The firm has a market cap of $43.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.77. Corteva, Inc. has a 52 week low of $45.01 and a 52 week high of $64.32. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $59.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $57.43.

Corteva announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, November 19th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 7.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Corteva Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.06%. Corteva’s payout ratio is 68.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CTVA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Corteva from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of Corteva from $69.00 to $68.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Corteva from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Corteva from $74.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 price target (up previously from $69.00) on shares of Corteva in a research report on Friday, November 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.59.

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.