Cozad Asset Management Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

Cozad Asset Management Inc. cut its holdings in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 52,379 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 604 shares during the quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Corning were worth $2,489,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its position in shares of Corning by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 66,063 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $3,139,000 after buying an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Buffington Mohr McNeal raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. 69.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Corning from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays cut their target price 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. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Corning from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. HSBC raised shares of Corning from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted 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 objective on shares of Corning from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Corning currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $53.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Corning news, SVP Michael Alan Bell sold 2,209 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.87, for a total value of $110,162.83. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 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 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. This represents a 16.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Corning Stock Up 2.8 %

GLW opened at $46.86 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $49.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.50. The company has a market cap of $40.13 billion, a PE ratio of 80.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.03. Corning Incorporated has a 1 year low of $30.72 and a 1 year high of $55.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.62.

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 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Corning Incorporated will post 2.33 earnings per share 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 given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Corning’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 193.10%.

Corning 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.