Raymond James Financial Inc. Takes Position in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,947,020 shares of the electronics maker’s stock, valued at approximately $92,522,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Corning by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 890,981 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $40,228,000 after acquiring an additional 12,451 shares during the last quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Corning by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 144,393 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $6,519,000 after acquiring an additional 3,375 shares during the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp grew its position in Corning by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 10,552 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $476,000 after acquiring an additional 594 shares during the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Corning during the 3rd quarter worth $443,000. Finally, Baker Avenue Asset Management LP grew its position in Corning by 15.0% during the 3rd quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 7,156 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $323,000 after acquiring an additional 935 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.80% of the company’s stock.

Corning Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:GLW opened at $45.89 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $39.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.13, a P/E/G 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. The business’s 50-day moving average is $50.06 and its 200-day moving average is $47.38. Corning Incorporated has a 1 year low of $30.72 and a 1 year high of $55.33.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 predict that Corning Incorporated will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Corning Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Corning’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 193.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on GLW. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Corning from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays cut their target price on Corning from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com downgraded Corning from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Hsbc Global Res raised Corning from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, HSBC raised Corning from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $51.00 to $60.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Corning currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $53.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Corning news, SVP Michael Alan Bell sold 2,209 shares of the business’s 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through 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 stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $7,940,852.48. This represents 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 owned by company insiders.

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.