1,947,020 Shares in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) Purchased by Raymond James Financial Inc.

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,947,020 shares of the electronics maker’s stock, valued at approximately $92,522,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.23% of Corning as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of GLW. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its stake in Corning by 76.7% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 523 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in Corning in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in Corning in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its stake in Corning by 202.4% in the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 747 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Corning in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 69.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Corning news, COO Eric S. Musser sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.92, for a total transaction of $1,557,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 152,944 shares in the company, valued at $7,940,852.48. This trade represents a 16.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael Alan Bell sold 2,209 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.87, for a total value of $110,162.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Corning Stock Performance

NYSE:GLW opened at $45.89 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $39.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 79.13, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.03. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $50.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $47.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. Corning Incorporated has a 1-year low of $30.72 and a 1-year high of $55.33.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Research analysts anticipate that Corning Incorporated will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Corning Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.44%. Corning’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 193.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GLW has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Corning from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Corning from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. HSBC raised Corning from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $51.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com cut Corning from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Corning from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.00.

About Corning

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.