WASHINGTON TRUST Co Cuts Stake in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

WASHINGTON TRUST Co lessened its stake in shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 193,646 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 5,539 shares during the period. WASHINGTON TRUST Co’s holdings in Corning were worth $9,202,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Corning by 52.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,723,044 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $168,095,000 after acquiring an additional 1,285,836 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in Corning by 3.8% in 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 last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Corning by 215.6% in the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,677,513 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $75,740,000 after purchasing an additional 1,145,955 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Corning by 4,306.9% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,050,463 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $47,428,000 after purchasing an additional 1,026,626 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Conning Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Corning by 14,556.8% during the third quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 881,019 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $39,778,000 after buying an additional 875,008 shares in the last quarter. 69.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Corning Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of GLW 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 firm 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. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $49.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $46.19. Corning Incorporated has a 12-month low of $30.72 and a 12-month 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Corning Incorporated will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Corning Dividend Announcement

The company 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 2.13%. Corning’s payout ratio is presently 193.11%.

Insider Activity at Corning

In other news, SVP John P. Bayne, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.39, for a total value of $241,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $324,213. This trade represents a 42.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 transaction 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 $7,940,852.48. This trade represents a 16.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 46,085 shares of company stock worth $2,345,436. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on GLW shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Corning from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Corning from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $58.00 price target (up from $51.00) on shares of Corning in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Corning from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Corning from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Three research 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 MarketBeat.com, Corning currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $53.00.

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.