Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) Shares Sold by IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd

IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd lessened its holdings in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 119,924 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 5,425 shares during the quarter. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd’s holdings in Corning were worth $5,699,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Corning during the third quarter worth about $106,000. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Corning by 101.5% during the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 11,581 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $523,000 after purchasing an additional 5,835 shares during the period. Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in shares of Corning by 60.2% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 38,314 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $1,730,000 after purchasing an additional 14,403 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Corning by 905.5% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 7,280 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $329,000 after purchasing an additional 6,556 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Centaurus Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Corning during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $514,000. Institutional investors own 69.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on GLW. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Corning from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. HSBC upgraded 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 report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup raised their target price on Corning from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays decreased their price target 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. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Corning from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Four investment 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 company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $54.31.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 directly owns 152,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,940,852.48. This trade represents a 16.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Michael Alan Bell sold 2,209 shares of the company’s 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. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Corning Stock Down 3.9 %

GLW stock opened at $47.07 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $40.32 billion, a PE ratio of 81.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.03. Corning Incorporated has a 12 month low of $30.72 and a 12 month 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 50 day simple moving average of $49.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $47.88.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Corning Incorporated will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Corning Announces Dividend

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 paid 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 2.38%. Corning’s dividend payout ratio is currently 193.10%.

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.