Howard Capital Management Inc. Acquires 243 Shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

Howard Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,736 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Corning were worth $225,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of GLW. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Corning by 52.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,723,044 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $168,095,000 after purchasing an additional 1,285,836 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Corning by 3.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,983,090 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $1,534,337,000 after acquiring an additional 1,242,718 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Corning by 215.6% in the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,677,513 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $75,740,000 after acquiring an additional 1,145,955 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its holdings in shares of Corning by 4,306.9% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,050,463 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $47,428,000 after acquiring an additional 1,026,626 shares during the period. Finally, Conning Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Corning by 14,556.8% in the third quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 881,019 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $39,778,000 after acquiring an additional 875,008 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.80% of the company’s stock.

Corning Price Performance

Shares of Corning stock opened at $49.73 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $50.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.93. Corning Incorporated has a 52 week low of $30.72 and a 52 week high of $55.33. The company has a market capitalization of $42.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 85.74, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.57 EPS 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%. As a group, analysts expect that Corning Incorporated will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. Corning’s payout ratio is 193.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GLW has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Hsbc Global Res raised Corning from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $58.00 price objective (up previously from $51.00) on shares of Corning in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays cut their price objective on Corning from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Corning from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Corning from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Eric S. Musser sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael Alan Bell sold 2,209 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was 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. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

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.