Private Advisor Group LLC Increases Stake in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

Private Advisor Group LLC raised its position in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 115,919 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,690 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Corning were worth $5,508,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Corning by 76.7% during the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 523 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares during the period. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Corning during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new position in shares of Corning during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its holdings in shares of Corning by 202.4% during the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 747 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Corning by 171.8% during the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 810 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 512 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Corning

In other news, SVP Michael Alan Bell sold 2,209 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.87, for a total transaction of $110,162.83. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Eric S. Musser sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.92, for a total value of $1,557,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 152,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,940,852.48. This represents a 16.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 41,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,103,486. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GLW has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Corning from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. StockNews.com upgraded Corning from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Corning from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays cut their price objective on Corning from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Corning from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.00.

Corning Stock Performance

NYSE GLW opened at $51.46 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $44.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 88.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $49.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $46.65. Corning Incorporated has a 1-year low of $30.72 and a 1-year high of $55.33.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.01. Corning had a return on equity of 15.10% and a net margin of 3.86%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Corning Incorporated will post 2.33 EPS for the current year.

Corning Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Corning’s dividend payout ratio is presently 193.11%.

Corning Company Profile

Corning Incorporated engages in the display technologies, optical communications, environmental technologies, specialty materials, and life sciences businesses in the United States and internationally. The company's Display Technologies segment offers glass substrates for flat panel displays, including liquid crystal displays and organic light-emitting diodes that are used in televisions, notebook computers, desktop monitors, tablets, and handheld devices.