Versor Investments LP Sells 15,514 Shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

Versor Investments LP lessened its holdings in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) by 52.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,986 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 15,514 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP’s holdings in Corning were worth $665,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GLW. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Corning by 76.7% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 523 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the period. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of Corning in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in shares of Corning in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its stake in shares of Corning by 202.4% in the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 747 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, JFS Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Corning by 171.8% in the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 810 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 512 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on GLW. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Corning from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Corning from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Corning from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Corning from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Corning from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $53.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Eric S. Musser sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was 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 directly owns 152,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,940,852.48. This represents a 16.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 value of $110,162.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Corning Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of GLW opened at $50.25 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.07. Corning Incorporated has a 1 year low of $30.72 and a 1 year high of $55.33. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $50.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $47.05. The firm has a market cap of $43.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 86.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.03.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.57 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%. On average, equities analysts expect that Corning Incorporated will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Corning Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.23%. Corning’s dividend payout ratio is currently 193.10%.

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.