Oppenheimer & Close LLC Has $4.32 Million Holdings in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

Oppenheimer & Close LLC lowered its stake in shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) by 10.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 90,916 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 10,358 shares during the quarter. Corning comprises 3.6% of Oppenheimer & Close LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Oppenheimer & Close LLC’s holdings in Corning were worth $4,320,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northstar Advisory Group LLC boosted its position 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 period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in 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 boosted its position in shares of Corning by 52.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,723,044 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $168,095,000 after acquiring an additional 1,285,836 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in shares of Corning by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 111,448 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $5,296,000 after acquiring an additional 16,001 shares during the period. Finally, First Financial Bank Trust Division boosted its position in shares of Corning by 27.5% in the fourth quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division now owns 138,153 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $6,565,000 after acquiring an additional 29,790 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America increased their price objective on Corning from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup increased their price objective on Corning from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Hsbc Global Res raised Corning from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com cut Corning from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Barclays reduced 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $54.31.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Michael Alan Bell sold 2,209 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.87, for a total value of $110,162.83. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Eric S. Musser sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 152,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,940,852.48. This trade represents a 16.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.45% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Corning Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE GLW opened at $48.49 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $41.53 billion, a PE ratio of 83.60, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a fifty day moving average of $49.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $47.67. Corning Incorporated has a 52-week low of $30.72 and a 52-week high of $55.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.62.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.57 earnings per share (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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Corning Incorporated will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Corning Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. Corning’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.