Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) Shares Purchased by CapWealth Advisors LLC

CapWealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 448,880 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,651 shares during the quarter. Corning comprises approximately 2.3% of CapWealth Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. CapWealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Corning were worth $21,331,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Northstar Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in Corning by 258.4% in the 4th quarter. Northstar Advisory Group LLC now owns 123,808 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $5,883,000 after acquiring an additional 89,268 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Corning by 48.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 191,648 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $8,975,000 after buying an additional 62,514 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Corning by 52.8% in the 3rd 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 period. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in shares of Corning by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 111,448 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $5,296,000 after acquiring an additional 16,001 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Financial Bank Trust Division lifted its holdings in shares of Corning by 27.5% during the 4th quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division now owns 138,153 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $6,565,000 after acquiring an additional 29,790 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP John P. Bayne, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.39, for a total transaction of $241,950.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,700 shares in the company, valued at $324,213. This represents a 42.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Eric S. Musser sold 30,000 shares of Corning stock in a transaction that occurred 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 46,085 shares of company stock worth $2,345,436 over the last ninety days. 0.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on GLW shares. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Corning from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. HSBC upgraded Corning from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $51.00 to $60.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley raised 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Corning from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Corning from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $53.00.

Corning Stock Performance

Corning stock opened at $52.58 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $49.46 and a 200-day moving average of $46.19. The stock has a market cap of $45.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 90.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.03. Corning Incorporated has a 52 week low of $30.72 and a 52 week high of $55.33.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.57 earnings per share 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 expect that Corning Incorporated will post 2.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Corning Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Corning’s dividend payout ratio is currently 193.11%.

About Corning

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.