KBC Group NV Trims Holdings in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

KBC Group NV decreased its stake in shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 122,639 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 2,181 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Corning were worth $5,828,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of Corning by 76.7% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 523 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 227 shares during the period. City Holding Co. increased its holdings in Corning by 545.5% during the 3rd quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 710 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the period. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its stake in Corning by 202.4% in the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 747 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Corning in the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Corning during the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. Institutional investors own 69.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Corning

In other Corning news, SVP John P. Bayne, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.39, for a total transaction of $241,950.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $324,213. The trade was a 42.74 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP John P. Bayne, Jr. sold 8,876 shares of Corning stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.09, for a total transaction of $435,722.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Corning Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE GLW opened at $49.93 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $48.67 and a 200-day moving average of $45.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.05 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. The firm has a market cap of $42.75 billion, a PE ratio of 293.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.04.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.01. Corning had a return on equity of 13.45% and a net margin of 1.24%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Corning Incorporated will post 1.95 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on GLW. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Corning from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Corning from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Corning from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Corning from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, HSBC raised shares of Corning from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $51.00 to $60.00 in a report on Thursday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $53.00.

Corning 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.