Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 2,853 Shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System cut its stake in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 40,926 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 2,853 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Corning were worth $1,945,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of GLW. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its position in shares of Corning by 76.7% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of Corning during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in shares of Corning during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its position in shares of Corning by 202.4% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Finally, Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Corning during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. 69.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Corning Price Performance

GLW opened at $48.49 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $49.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.63. Corning Incorporated has a 1 year low of $30.72 and a 1 year high of $55.33. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $41.53 billion, a PE ratio of 83.60, 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 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%. Research analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. Corning’s dividend payout ratio is currently 193.10%.

Insider Activity at Corning

In related news, 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 transaction of $1,557,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 152,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,940,852.48. The trade was a 16.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $110,162.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.45% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on GLW. Barclays decreased their target price on Corning from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Corning from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. StockNews.com downgraded Corning from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Corning from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Corning from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.31.

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.