Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) Stock Holdings Increased by IFP Advisors Inc

IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) by 447.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 68,744 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after buying an additional 56,185 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc’s holdings in Corning were worth $3,267,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GLW has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. HSBC raised shares of Corning from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $51.00 to $60.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup raised their price target on Corning from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays lowered 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. UBS Group raised their target price on Corning from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $58.00 price target (up previously from $51.00) on shares of Corning in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Eric S. Musser sold 30,000 shares of Corning 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 transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Michael Alan Bell sold 2,209 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Corning Stock Performance

GLW stock opened at $50.79 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $43.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 87.56, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $49.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.86. Corning Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $30.72 and a fifty-two week high of $55.33.

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

Corning Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Corning’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.