Columbia Asset Management Purchases 5,401 Shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

Columbia Asset Management raised its position in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) by 12.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 48,156 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,401 shares during the period. Columbia Asset Management’s holdings in Corning were worth $2,288,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GLW. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Corning by 52.8% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its position in Corning by 13.9% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 27,824 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $1,256,000 after buying an additional 3,400 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Corning by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 100,289 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $4,528,000 after buying an additional 6,034 shares during the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in shares of Corning in the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,545,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Corning in the third quarter valued at about $514,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.80% of the company’s stock.

Corning Stock Performance

NYSE:GLW opened at $45.53 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $48.00. The stock has a market cap of $39.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 78.49, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.03. Corning Incorporated has a 1-year low of $30.72 and a 1-year high of $55.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Research analysts anticipate that Corning Incorporated will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Corning Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Corning’s dividend payout ratio is currently 193.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on GLW. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Corning from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Corning from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Corning from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Corning from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Corning from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $54.31.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 transaction of $110,162.83. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Eric S. Musser sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 152,944 shares in the company, valued at $7,940,852.48. The trade was a 16.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

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.