Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) Shares Sold by Eliot Finkel Investment Counsel LLC

Eliot Finkel Investment Counsel LLC lessened its stake in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 158,860 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 2,315 shares during the quarter. Corning accounts for about 4.8% of Eliot Finkel Investment Counsel LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Eliot Finkel Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Corning were worth $7,549,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its stake in Corning by 76.7% in the fourth 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 acquired a new position in Corning in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in Corning in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its stake in Corning by 202.4% in the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 747 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Corning by 171.8% in the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 810 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 512 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Barclays lowered their target price on Corning from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Hsbc Global Res raised Corning from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Corning from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com downgraded Corning from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Corning from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $53.00.

Insider Activity at Corning

In other Corning news, SVP Michael Alan Bell sold 2,209 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $1,557,600.00. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Corning Stock Performance

Shares of GLW stock opened at $50.25 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $50.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.10. Corning Incorporated has a one year low of $30.72 and a one year high of $55.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.04 billion, a PE ratio of 86.63, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.03. 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 earnings results 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, research analysts forecast that Corning Incorporated will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Corning Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Corning’s payout ratio is presently 193.10%.

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.