Van ECK Associates Corp Increases Position in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) by 343.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 114,330 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 88,558 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Corning were worth $5,433,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northstar Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in Corning by 258.4% during the 4th quarter. Northstar Advisory Group LLC now owns 123,808 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $5,883,000 after purchasing an additional 89,268 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Corning by 48.4% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 191,648 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $8,975,000 after acquiring an additional 62,514 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Corning by 52.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,723,044 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $168,095,000 after acquiring an additional 1,285,836 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in shares of Corning by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 111,448 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $5,296,000 after purchasing an additional 16,001 shares during the period. Finally, First Financial Bank Trust Division raised its position in Corning by 27.5% in the 4th quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division now owns 138,153 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $6,565,000 after purchasing an additional 29,790 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on GLW. StockNews.com upgraded Corning from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Corning from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Corning from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. HSBC upgraded shares of Corning from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $51.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Corning from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $53.00.

Corning Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of Corning stock opened at $52.81 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. Corning Incorporated has a 52-week low of $30.72 and a 52-week high of $55.33. The company has a market capitalization of $45.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 91.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a 50 day moving average of $49.60 and a 200 day moving average of $46.39.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.01. Corning had a return on equity of 15.10% and a net margin of 3.86%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Corning Incorporated will post 2.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Corning Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Corning’s dividend payout ratio is presently 193.11%.

Insider Activity at Corning

In other Corning news, SVP John P. Bayne, Jr. sold 8,876 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.09, for a total transaction of $435,722.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, 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 value of $110,162.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 46,085 shares of company stock worth $2,345,436 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

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.