AlphaQuest LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

AlphaQuest LLC lifted its position in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) by 281.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,972 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,622 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Corning were worth $426,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Amundi boosted its stake in shares of Corning by 139.0% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 3,900,808 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $186,186,000 after acquiring an additional 2,268,436 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Corning during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $92,522,000. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Corning by 52.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,723,044 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $168,095,000 after buying an additional 1,285,836 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Corning by 3.8% in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Corning by 218.5% in the 4th quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. now owns 1,009,208 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $47,958,000 after purchasing an additional 692,366 shares during the last quarter. 69.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on GLW shares. Barclays dropped their target price on 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 upgraded Corning from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup raised their target price on Corning from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. HSBC upgraded Corning from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $51.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Corning from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Corning currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $53.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Corning

In other Corning news, SVP Michael Alan Bell sold 2,209 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Eric S. Musser sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 152,944 shares in the company, valued at $7,940,852.48. The trade was a 16.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Corning Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of GLW opened at $45.56 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $39.02 billion, a PE ratio of 78.55, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.03. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $49.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.43. 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 12 month low of $30.72 and a 12 month high of $55.33.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, analysts anticipate that Corning Incorporated will post 2.33 EPS 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 paid 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 2.46%. Corning’s payout ratio is presently 193.10%.

Corning Company 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.