HighTower Advisors LLC Buys 577 Shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) by 0.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 647,394 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 577 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Corning were worth $30,764,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of GLW. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its stake in shares of Corning by 76.7% during the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 523 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares during the period. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in Corning during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in Corning during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton increased its stake in shares of Corning by 202.4% in the fourth 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. Finally, Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Corning in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 69.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Corning Trading Up 2.8 %

Shares of Corning stock opened at $46.86 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.07. 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 $40.13 billion, a PE ratio of 80.79, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $47.43.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.01. Corning had a net margin of 3.86% and a return on equity of 15.10%. Analysts expect that Corning Incorporated will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Corning Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.39%. Corning’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 193.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Corning from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. HSBC upgraded Corning from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $51.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Corning from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays reduced their target price on Corning from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Corning from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $53.00.

Insider Activity at Corning

In other 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Eric S. Musser sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 152,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,940,852.48. This trade represents a 16.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.