Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Acquires 32,329 Shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) by 10.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 329,279 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 32,329 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Corning were worth $15,647,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Corning by 0.3% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 39,225,452 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $1,771,029,000 after buying an additional 133,214 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Corning by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,983,090 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $1,534,337,000 after purchasing an additional 1,242,718 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Corning by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,853,076 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $219,116,000 after purchasing an additional 38,168 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,285,836 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Corning by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,810,435 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $126,893,000 after acquiring an additional 52,667 shares during the period. 69.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on GLW shares. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Corning from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup upped their price target on Corning from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com upgraded Corning from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $58.00 price target (up previously from $51.00) on shares of Corning in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Corning from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Corning presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.00.

Corning Price Performance

NYSE GLW opened at $50.79 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $49.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 87.56, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.07. Corning Incorporated has a 1-year low of $30.72 and a 1-year high of $55.33.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 predict that Corning Incorporated will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Corning Dividend Announcement

The business 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. Corning’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 193.10%.

Insider Transactions at Corning

In other Corning news, SVP Michael Alan Bell sold 2,209 shares of the 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Eric S. Musser sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.