Financial Counselors Inc. Lowers Position in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

Financial Counselors Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 302,651 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 7,653 shares during the quarter. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Corning were worth $14,382,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GLW. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Corning by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 99,903,247 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $4,747,402,000 after purchasing an additional 916,528 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Corning by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 39,225,452 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $1,771,029,000 after buying an additional 133,214 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Corning by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,983,090 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $1,534,337,000 after buying an additional 1,242,718 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Corning by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,937,981 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $234,653,000 after acquiring an additional 84,905 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi grew its position in Corning by 139.0% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 3,900,808 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $186,186,000 after acquiring an additional 2,268,436 shares in the last quarter. 69.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Corning Price Performance

Shares of Corning stock opened at $47.07 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $49.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $47.88. Corning Incorporated has a 12-month low of $30.72 and a 12-month high of $55.33. The firm has a market cap of $40.32 billion, a PE ratio of 81.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.03. 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 posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.57 earnings per share (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%. As a group, equities analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.38%. Corning’s dividend payout ratio is presently 193.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 shares were sold at an average price of $49.87, for a total value of $110,162.83. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Eric S. Musser sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 152,944 shares in the company, valued at $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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GLW has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley raised 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. HSBC raised Corning from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $51.00 to $60.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Corning from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Corning from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Corning from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $54.31.

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.