Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) Stake Boosted by Godshalk Welsh Capital Management Inc.

Godshalk Welsh Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) by 19.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 13,300 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after buying an additional 2,200 shares during the period. Godshalk Welsh Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Corning were worth $632,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in GLW. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its stake in Corning by 76.7% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 523 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the period. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Corning in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new position in shares of Corning during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its position in Corning by 202.4% during the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 747 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Corning in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. 69.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Corning Stock Down 3.9 %

GLW opened at $47.07 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $40.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 81.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.62. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $49.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.88. Corning Incorporated has a twelve month low of $30.72 and a twelve month high of $55.33.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.57 earnings per share 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%. Research analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.38%. Corning’s payout ratio is presently 193.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Eric S. Musser sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.92, for a total transaction of $1,557,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 152,944 shares in the company, valued at $7,940,852.48. This represents a 16.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Michael Alan Bell sold 2,209 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.87, for a total transaction of $110,162.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on GLW. Barclays dropped 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. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Corning from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. StockNews.com cut shares of Corning from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Corning from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Corning from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Four investment 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 data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $54.31.

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.