Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Sells 2,000 Shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System cut its position in shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 41,400 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 2,000 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Corning were worth $1,967,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Corning by 52.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,723,044 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $168,095,000 after acquiring an additional 1,285,836 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Corning by 3.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,983,090 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $1,534,337,000 after purchasing an additional 1,242,718 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Corning by 215.6% during the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,677,513 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $75,740,000 after purchasing an additional 1,145,955 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of Corning by 4,306.9% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,050,463 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $47,428,000 after purchasing an additional 1,026,626 shares during the period. Finally, Conning Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Corning by 14,556.8% in the 3rd quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 881,019 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $39,778,000 after buying an additional 875,008 shares in the last quarter. 69.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Corning

In other news, SVP John P. Bayne, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of Corning 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 $324,213. This trade represents a 42.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Eric S. Musser sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.92, for a total transaction of $1,557,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 152,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,940,852.48. This represents a 16.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 46,085 shares of company stock worth $2,345,436 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Corning Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of GLW opened at $52.58 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $49.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.02 billion, a PE ratio of 90.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.03. Corning Incorporated has a 12-month low of $30.72 and a 12-month high of $55.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

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

Corning Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Corning’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 193.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GLW has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Corning from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Corning from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Corning from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. HSBC raised shares of Corning from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $51.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Corning from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.