Capital Investment Counsel Inc Decreases Stake in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

Capital Investment Counsel Inc reduced its position in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) by 5.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 32,050 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 2,000 shares during the period. Capital Investment Counsel Inc’s holdings in Corning were worth $1,523,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its position in shares of Corning by 76.7% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 523 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Corning in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Corning in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its position in shares of Corning by 202.4% in the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 747 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JFS Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Corning by 171.8% in the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 810 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 512 shares in the last quarter. 69.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Corning Trading Down 1.5 %

GLW opened at $51.87 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $44.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 89.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.03. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $49.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.58. Corning Incorporated has a one year low of $30.72 and a one 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.57 earnings per share (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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Corning Incorporated will post 2.33 EPS for the current 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 issued 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 2.16%. Corning’s payout ratio is 193.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on GLW shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Corning from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Corning from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Corning from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. HSBC raised Corning from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $51.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Corning from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $53.00.

Insider Activity 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 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael Alan Bell sold 2,209 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 41,085 shares of company stock worth $2,103,486. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

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.