LPL Financial LLC Grows Holdings in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,107,368 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,768 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in Corning were worth $52,622,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in GLW. 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 valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Corning during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in shares of Corning in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its stake in Corning by 202.4% in the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 747 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Corning during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. 69.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Corning Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE GLW opened at $46.60 on Friday. Corning Incorporated has a 12-month low of $30.72 and a 12-month high of $55.33. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $49.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $47.87. 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 stock has a market cap of $39.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 80.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.03.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, analysts forecast that Corning Incorporated will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Corning Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.40%. Corning’s dividend payout ratio is currently 193.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Eric S. Musser sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.92, for a total transaction of $1,557,600.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 152,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,940,852.48. This trade represents a 16.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael Alan Bell sold 2,209 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.