Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. Takes Position in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 1,246 shares of the electronics maker’s stock, valued at approximately $38,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of GLW. Peoples Bank KS acquired a new position in shares of Corning during the third quarter worth about $25,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Corning in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Corning by 173.6% during the 3rd quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 900 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 571 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Corning in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Corning by 232.9% in the 3rd quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 932 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 652 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Vice Chairman Lawrence D. Mcrae sold 77,464 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.24, for a total value of $2,574,903.36. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 215,254 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,155,042.96. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.45% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on GLW. HSBC downgraded shares of Corning from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $29.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Corning from $28.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of Corning from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Corning from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Susquehanna reaffirmed a “positive” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Corning in a report on Monday, April 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $34.56.

Corning Price Performance

Shares of GLW opened at $31.27 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $26.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.08. Corning Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $25.26 and a fifty-two week high of $36.01. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $32.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.67.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The electronics maker reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39. Corning had a return on equity of 12.31% and a net margin of 4.62%. The company had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.26 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.47 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Corning Incorporated will post 1.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Corning Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 29th were paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 28th. Corning’s payout ratio is currently 167.16%.

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.