South Dakota Investment Council Has $435,000 Position in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

South Dakota Investment Council cut its holdings in shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) by 80.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,147 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 36,507 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Corning were worth $435,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Corning by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 6,170 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $293,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the period. Bogart Wealth LLC raised its position in Corning by 18.3% during the 4th quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 1,419 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Buffington Mohr McNeal lifted its holdings in Corning by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Buffington Mohr McNeal now owns 10,461 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $497,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in shares of Corning by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 19,581 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $930,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators increased its stake in shares of Corning by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 6,226 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $296,000 after buying an additional 221 shares during the period. 69.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Corning Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:GLW opened at $50.79 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $49.97 and its 200 day moving average is $46.86. Corning Incorporated has a 12-month low of $30.72 and a 12-month high of $55.33. The stock has a market cap of $43.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 87.56, 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 posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 3.86% and a return on equity of 15.10%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Corning Incorporated will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Corning Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. Corning’s dividend payout ratio is currently 193.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Eric S. Musser sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 152,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,940,852.48. This trade represents a 16.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Michael Alan Bell sold 2,209 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on GLW. HSBC raised shares of Corning from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $51.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $58.00 target price (up previously from $51.00) on shares of Corning in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Corning from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Corning from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Corning from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $53.00.

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.