Westpac Banking Corp Cuts Stock Holdings in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

Westpac Banking Corp cut its position in shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) by 35.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 39,962 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 22,045 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Corning were worth $1,899,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GLW. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted 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 acquiring an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in Corning during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in Corning in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Corning in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its stake in shares of Corning by 202.4% during the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 747 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Corning

In other Corning news, COO Eric S. Musser sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.92, for a total transaction of $1,557,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael Alan Bell sold 2,209 shares of Corning stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were 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 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Corning from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. 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 research note on Wednesday, March 19th. HSBC raised shares of Corning from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $51.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Corning from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $54.31.

Corning Price Performance

Corning stock opened at $42.33 on Friday. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $49.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.99. 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 $36.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 72.98, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.03.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 3.86% and a return on equity of 15.10%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Corning Incorporated will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Corning Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. 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.