Whittier Trust Co. Sells 643 Shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

Whittier Trust Co. decreased its position in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 18,960 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 643 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in Corning were worth $901,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Corning in the fourth quarter valued at $226,000. Talos Asset Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Corning in the 4th quarter worth $23,313,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its holdings in shares of Corning by 780.1% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 47,949 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $2,279,000 after buying an additional 42,501 shares during the last quarter. Generali Investments Management Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Corning during the 4th quarter valued at about $948,000. Finally, Investment House LLC raised its position in shares of Corning by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Investment House LLC now owns 53,691 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $2,551,000 after buying an additional 625 shares in the last quarter. 69.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Corning from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays cut their target price on Corning from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Corning from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. 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 note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Corning from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.31.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Eric S. Musser sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 152,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,940,852.48. This trade represents a 16.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael Alan Bell sold 2,209 shares of Corning 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.45% of the company’s stock.

Corning Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE GLW opened at $48.49 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.62. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $49.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 83.60, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.03. Corning Incorporated has a 52-week low of $30.72 and a 52-week high of $55.33.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.01. Corning had a net margin of 3.86% and a return on equity of 15.10%. Sell-side analysts expect that Corning Incorporated will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Corning Announces Dividend

The business 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 yield of 2.31%. Corning’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 193.10%.

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.