Generali Investments Management Co LLC Takes $948,000 Position in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

Generali Investments Management Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 19,954 shares of the electronics maker’s stock, valued at approximately $948,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of Corning by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 66,063 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $3,139,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Corning by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 6,170 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $293,000 after buying an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Corning by 18.3% in the 4th quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 1,419 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Buffington Mohr McNeal grew its holdings in Corning by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Buffington Mohr McNeal now owns 10,461 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $497,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in Corning by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 19,581 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $930,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. 69.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Corning Price Performance

Corning stock opened at $47.27 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The company has a market capitalization of $40.49 billion, a PE ratio of 81.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.03. Corning Incorporated has a one year low of $30.72 and a one year high of $55.33. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $47.57.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last posted its earnings results 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 return on equity of 15.10% and a net margin of 3.86%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Corning Incorporated will post 2.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Corning Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.37%. Corning’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 193.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Corning news, SVP Michael Alan Bell sold 2,209 shares of Corning stock in a transaction on 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 Corning stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,940,852.48. The trade was a 16.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.45% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on GLW shares. Barclays lowered 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 raised Corning from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $51.00 to $60.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com lowered Corning from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Corning from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Corning from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Four 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, Corning currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $53.00.

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.