California Public Employees Retirement System Decreases Stock Holdings in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

California Public Employees Retirement System reduced its holdings in shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 3,471,524 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 62,606 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Corning were worth $164,967,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and 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 shares of Corning by 76.7% during the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 523 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the period. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in Corning during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in Corning in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Corning in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its position in shares of Corning by 202.4% during the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 747 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.80% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Michael Alan Bell sold 2,209 shares of Corning stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.87, for a total value of $110,162.83. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Eric S. Musser sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 152,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,940,852.48. The trade was a 16.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GLW has been the topic of a number of research reports. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Corning from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Corning from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Corning from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. HSBC raised shares of Corning from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $51.00 to $60.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Corning from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Four equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $54.31.

Corning Trading Down 1.4 %

Corning stock opened at $45.91 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.62. Corning Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $30.72 and a fifty-two week high of $55.33. The stock has a market cap of $39.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 79.16, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.03. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $49.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.95.

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

Corning Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Corning’s dividend payout ratio is currently 193.10%.

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.