Legacy Capital Group California Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

Legacy Capital Group California Inc. trimmed its position in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,015 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 207 shares during the quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc.’s holdings in Corning were worth $1,284,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its position in Corning by 76.7% during the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 523 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Corning in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Corning in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its holdings in shares of Corning by 202.4% during the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 747 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Corning by 171.8% during the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 810 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 512 shares during the last quarter. 69.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Corning

In related news, COO Eric S. Musser sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael Alan Bell sold 2,209 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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. Insiders have sold 41,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,103,486 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $58.00 price target (up from $51.00) on shares of Corning in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Corning from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Corning from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. HSBC upgraded Corning from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $51.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Corning from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $53.00.

Corning Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GLW opened at $51.87 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $44.43 billion, a PE ratio of 89.42, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.03. Corning Incorporated has a one year low of $30.72 and a one year high of $55.33. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $49.79 and a 200 day moving average of $46.58.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.01. Corning had a net margin of 3.86% and a return on equity of 15.10%. As a group, research analysts predict that Corning Incorporated will post 2.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Corning Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.16%. Corning’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 193.11%.

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.