Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) Shares Sold by Wellington Shields & Co. LLC

Wellington Shields & Co. LLC cut its position in shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 36,120 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC’s holdings in Corning were worth $1,716,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northstar Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Corning by 258.4% in the fourth quarter. Northstar Advisory Group LLC now owns 123,808 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $5,883,000 after acquiring an additional 89,268 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Corning by 48.4% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 191,648 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $8,975,000 after acquiring an additional 62,514 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Corning by 52.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,723,044 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $168,095,000 after acquiring an additional 1,285,836 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in shares of Corning by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 111,448 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $5,296,000 after acquiring an additional 16,001 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Financial Bank Trust Division raised its holdings in shares of Corning by 27.5% in the fourth quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division now owns 138,153 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $6,565,000 after acquiring an additional 29,790 shares during the last quarter. 69.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Corning Price Performance

GLW stock opened at $46.86 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $49.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $47.43. Corning Incorporated has a 12-month low of $30.72 and a 12-month high of $55.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company has a market cap of $40.13 billion, a PE ratio of 80.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.03.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last issued its 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%. As a group, research analysts predict that Corning Incorporated will post 2.33 EPS for the current year.

Corning Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Corning’s payout ratio is 193.10%.

Insider Transactions at Corning

In other news, SVP Michael Alan Bell sold 2,209 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.87, for a total value of $110,162.83. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Eric S. Musser sold 30,000 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 152,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,940,852.48. The trade was a 16.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on GLW. Hsbc Global Res raised Corning from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report 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 lifted 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. Morgan Stanley lifted 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. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Corning from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus 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.