Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV Grows Stock Holdings in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV lifted its position in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) by 23.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,733 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after buying an additional 1,449 shares during the quarter. Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV’s holdings in Corning were worth $367,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Corning during the fourth quarter worth about $92,522,000. FMR LLC increased its stake in Corning by 52.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,723,044 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $168,095,000 after buying an additional 1,285,836 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Corning by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,983,090 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $1,534,337,000 after buying an additional 1,242,718 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Corning by 215.6% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,677,513 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $75,740,000 after buying an additional 1,145,955 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of Corning by 218.5% in the fourth quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. now owns 1,009,208 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $47,958,000 after acquiring an additional 692,366 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Corning

In other Corning news, SVP Michael Alan Bell sold 2,209 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.87, for a total transaction of $110,162.83. The transaction 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 Corning stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.92, for a total value of $1,557,600.00. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on GLW. HSBC upgraded Corning from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $51.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays lowered 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. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Corning from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com cut shares of Corning from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Corning from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. 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 data from MarketBeat, Corning currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $53.00.

Corning Stock Up 1.3 %

Corning stock opened at $47.12 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $50.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.31. The company has a market capitalization of $40.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 81.23, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.62. Corning Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $30.72 and a fifty-two week high of $55.33.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Corning Incorporated will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Corning Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.38%. Corning’s payout ratio is 193.10%.

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.