FIL Ltd Sells 1,160,363 Shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

FIL Ltd cut its stake in shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) by 17.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,543,144 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 1,160,363 shares during the quarter. FIL Ltd owned about 0.65% of Corning worth $263,410,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of GLW. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Corning by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 99,903,247 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $4,747,402,000 after buying an additional 916,528 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Corning by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,470,610 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $875,633,000 after purchasing an additional 533,686 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Corning in the fourth quarter worth $490,933,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Corning by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,048,735 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $287,436,000 after purchasing an additional 293,713 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Corning by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,937,981 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $234,653,000 after buying an additional 84,905 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.80% of the company’s stock.

Corning Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:GLW opened at $39.56 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.89 billion, a PE ratio of 68.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $48.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $47.97. Corning Incorporated has a 1 year low of $30.72 and a 1 year high of $55.33. 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 (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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Corning Incorporated will post 2.33 EPS for the current year.

Corning Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.83%. Corning’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 193.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on GLW shares. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Corning from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Corning from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Corning from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Corning from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Corning from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $54.31.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Corning news, COO Eric S. Musser sold 30,000 shares of Corning stock in a transaction on 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 directly 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael Alan Bell sold 2,209 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were 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. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Corning Company 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.