CoreFirst Bank & Trust Invests $414,000 in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

CoreFirst Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 8,711 shares of the electronics maker’s stock, valued at approximately $414,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northstar Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Corning by 258.4% in the fourth quarter. Northstar Advisory Group LLC now owns 123,808 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $5,883,000 after purchasing an additional 89,268 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased 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 valued at $8,975,000 after buying an additional 62,514 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in Corning by 52.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,723,044 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $168,095,000 after buying an additional 1,285,836 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted 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 worth $5,296,000 after buying an additional 16,001 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Financial Bank Trust Division grew its holdings in shares of Corning by 27.5% in the 4th quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division now owns 138,153 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $6,565,000 after acquiring an additional 29,790 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.80% of the company’s stock.

Corning Price Performance

Corning stock opened at $49.88 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $42.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 85.99, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. Corning Incorporated has a 12 month low of $30.72 and a 12 month high of $55.33. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $49.98 and its 200-day moving average is $47.78.

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

Corning Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Corning’s dividend payout ratio is currently 193.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Corning

In related news, COO Eric S. Musser sold 30,000 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 152,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,940,852.48. The trade was a 16.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Michael Alan Bell sold 2,209 shares of the firm’s 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GLW has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays reduced their price target on Corning from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Citigroup raised 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 upgraded shares of Corning from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $51.00 to $60.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Corning from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Corning from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Corning currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $54.31.

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.